A Slytherin Story
by Little Katu-Muffin
Summary: Has sex and plot, along with some Cassie Claire-esque humour. Sequel to For the Love of Potions.
1. Chapter 3

Title: Volva a Scelus  
Author: Katu Backwards  
Author email: katubish@hotmail.com  
Rating: R (ish)  
Summary: When a new boy begins school at Hogwarts, everything goes splodey. Sex, Voldemort, arguments, secrets, heroism, blood, and fluffy kittens named Foofkins.  
  
Disclaimer: Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and so on, do not belong to me. As you might have guessed. Chaos Aberidge is mine, Jupiter is mine, so on and so forth. Use 'em if you want, just link me. By link me I mean give me the link.  
  
The normal rule goes, if you want to know when I update, leave your e-mail in a review and tell me so. I can think of nothing to disprove this.  
  
Constructive criticism welcome and encouraged.  
  
Various mild ideas including but not limited to; humour style, beginning-of-chapter information, ending-of-chapter summary, and some random information (ie - Draco's middle name being Thomas, etc), borrowed from the oh-so-talented, charmingly bohemian, tragically impoverish writer Cassandra Claire.  
  
And now we return you to your regularly scheduled fic.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Jupiter sat on her bed and thought about her situation. Draco really hadn't promised her that he wouldn't tell, and she trusted Draco about as far as she could spit a rat. Things weren't going well. She wanted to owl Severus, but she didn't know if it would be wise. She still didn't know what the hell had happened between Harry and Draco, but that didn't worry her so much. She had a new friend, and she just didn't know what sort of mood to be in.  
  
Deep in thought, she failed to notice Chaos hovering over her. He'd come in silently, and walked over to Jupiter's bed just as quietly. Jupiter tried to flop backwards onto her bed, but was stopped by Chaos's chest. She turned around and yelled.  
  
"Jesus bloody Christ, Chaos! You scared me!" she cried, but Chaos just kept his benign smile, eye blank. Jupiter couldn't stay angry at him, and sighed. "You're an interesting guy, Chaos."  
  
Chaos nodded and sat on the bed. "I like to think so. Lady is interesting, too. I find her very intriguing."  
  
Jupiter blushed, despite herself. There was something about Chaos that unnerved her. Though he was calm and amenable, he also seemed a bit dangerous, beneath his exterior. He was never offended or embarrassed, and though he didn't seem to understand any form of humor, he was so...nice. All the same, a part of her piped up, he's not too intelligent, and he can't compare with Severus. She shook herself and looked up at Chaos, who was grinning dumbly as usual. She gave him a big smile, just for cheering her up.  
  
He Grinned back, and leaned forward. He kissed her on the forehead, and Jupiter blushed. Part of her lit up inside. It was a little-used part of her called Morality. It spoke up.  
  
"I really shouldn't be allowing Chaos to get so cozy with me, on my own bed as well. Severus wouldn't approve."  
  
It was right, of course. She would have to tell Chaos.  
  
"Chaos, I need you to know something."  
  
He nodded, and looked eager-to-please.  
  
"Chaos...I can't be with you." She noted his crestfallen expression and hastily continued, "I mean, I can't...kiss you and things. I can't."  
  
Chaos merely looked confused.  
  
Jupiter sighed. "Nevermind," she said, and then, internally, "Never try to tell a crazy person something about love."  
  
***  
  
At breakfast the next morning, Draco got a dread red envelope. He looked at it in horror, who would send him a howler? He picked it up gingerly, and the whole Slytherin table turned to watch. He'd barely loosened the seal when the howler shot open and Lucius Malfoy's voice projected like a loudspeaker out of it.  
  
"DRACO THOMAS MALFOY!! HOW COULD YOU DISGRACE THE FAMILY LIKE THIS?! BEING QUEER IS ONE THING, PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE FAMILY TRAIT UNDER THE PROPER CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT HOW DARE YOU-HOW DARE YOU SEE FIT TO CONSORT WITH THE LIKES OF POTTER!! YOU ARE A DISGUST TO OUR NAME, AND I AM CUTTING YOUR ALLOWANCE IN HALF, YOU INSOLENT LITTLE TWIT!!"  
  
Finally, the letter seemed to have served its purpose, and crumbled away into ash. Draco was as crimson as the envelope the howler had come in. Jupiter herself was shocked. She'd known they were friends, but she had no idea that it had progressed to more than that, and so quickly. She wasn't however, shocked to find out that Draco way gay. It seemed that this was not the general consensus. The Great Hall was filled with whispers.  
  
"Harry and Draco?"  
  
"A Slytherin and a Gryffindor, lovers?"  
  
"But he's a Malfoy!"  
  
"Say it ain't so, Harry!"  
  
"Draco, you're REALLY seeing Harry Potter?!"  
  
Jupiter turned to her beet-faced friend. "Draco!" she said in a reprimanding voice, "I didn't know your middle name was Thomas!"  
  
***  
  
A few days later, Lucius Malfoy received a Fone call (Fone is like Floo, only speaking instead of travelling) from his insolent twit...I mean son.   
  
"What is it, Draco?" Lucius asked him calmly, and began to pour himself a glass of wine.  
  
Draco's angry voice came through the fireplace, "You know damn well what it is! Just because I'm dating Harry, doesn't mean you have to half my allowance. It's not like I'm buying him bloody flowers or anything with it. You're just bitter because he defeated your Dark Lord person way back in the day. What the hell has he done recently, huh? NOTHING. There's no reason for you to get so hissy about it. Unlikely couples are all the rage now, didn't you know? Me and Harry, Pansy and Finch-Fletchely, Jupiter and Snape-"  
  
Lucius was beginning to be annoyed at his son's behavior when he'd spat out the Jupiter and Snape remark. Lucius turned to the fireplace with interest. "What's this about Jupiter and Snape?"  
  
Draco spluttered. He'd accidentally told! "Nothing!" he cried, a little too quickly, "Nothing, I just want my allowance back!"  
  
"All right, Draco. But only because of the information on Severus." And Lucius doused the fire, ending the call.  
  
Lucius shook his head. He really did spoil that boy. Ah well. Severus and the Vrij's daughter. He was nearly twice her age, wasn't he? What a scandal.  
  
"I can't help but wonder..." Lucius mused out loud, "What Master would make of this...?"  
  
***  
  
Draco sat heavily down on the dorm bed. What had he done? He'd just betrayed Jupiter's secret! He'd not meant to, he'd really meant to keep it. But then, what could his father do? He liked Snape, right? Draco's mind boggled. He would have to tell Jupiter. He stood up and prepared to head to the common room, where he knew she would be.  
  
And, indeed, she was. Draco was almost disappointed as he sat down next to her. She was playing wizard's chess against Pansy, and losing horrifically. But she was laughing and having a good time. Draco couldn't tell her now, he realized, not with people around. He settled back into the cushions of the leaf-colored couch with a huge sigh. Jupiter glanced at him.  
  
"What's the matter, Draco? Daddy got you down?" she asked. Her tone was joking, but she was actually worried about him.  
  
"Oh gods, Jupiter, you have no idea," he said, and heaved another sigh. Pansy turned to him apologetically.  
  
"Draco, if it makes you feel any better, I understand. It makes me feel much better to know that you weren't snubbing me off for some other girl!"  
  
"Thanks, Pansy," he said bitterly, "Always so concerned about me."  
  
Pansy didn't seem to notice the sarcasm in his voice, since she was too busy checkmating Jupiter.  
  
"Good Geese!" Jupiter cried, throwing her hands up into the air with a laugh, "I'll never learn to play this game!"  
  
"No," Pansy smiled, "I don't think you ever will. I used to think I was the worst player in this house. I was wrong."  
  
"You're such a sweetie, Pansy. I'll play you to some one-on-one Quidditch, though, if you like!" Jupiter laughed, and Pansy shook her head. Jupiter might have sucked like hell at chess, but she was very good at Quidditch. It was her 'turf'.  
  
Draco stood up and grabbed Jupiter's arm, standing her up. "Jupiter, I have to talk to you. Alone."  
  
"Are you sure you're gay, and not shoving me off for Jupiter?" Pansy joked, but Draco ignored her. Jupiter looked Draco in the eye, and allowed herself to be led away into the hallway, while Pansy began to (try to) teach Chaos to play chess.  
  
"Jupiter, I really need to tell you something."  
  
"What? You're not gay? You're secretly in love with me?" she said with a smirk, but Draco's face stayed dead serious. "All right, all right. The suspense is killing me! Talk!"  
  
"Jupiter, I really need you to take this seriously. This could be big trouble."  
  
Jupiter saw the pleading in her friend's eyes, and her face softened into a look of concern. Draco began speaking again, "Jupiter, I accidentally told my dad about you and Snape. I didn't mean to, I-"  
  
"Wait, You WHAT?!" Jupiter cried, and visibly bristled with anger. Her shoulders seemed to puff up, and she contrived to hover menacingly over Draco, who was a decent five inches taller than she, "You TOLD your DAD?! ACCIDENTALLY?! How the HELL do you accidentally tell someone something?!"  
  
"Shhhhh, someone will hear!"  
  
"I don't ruddy well care! And neither do you, apparently! How did it happen?"  
  
"Well, I just-"  
  
"Nevermind! I don't even want to hear it! Some friend you are, you...you..." she faltered, "...You faggot Malfoy scum!" she shrieked, and ran back into the common room in a snit.  
  
Draco stood in shock. Jupiter had never openly shouted at him before. And she would never have used his sexuality against him normally. Draco sighed. Perhaps he shouldn't have mentioned it.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter stormed into the common room to find Pansy on Chaos's lap, talking to him and giggling shamelessly. He was smiling the benign way he generally smiled, and kept playing with Pansy's hair. Jupiter glared at them.  
  
She was going to say something to Chaos, but she was too angry. Instead, she stomped up the stairs to her dorm and threw herself on her bed. She felt like shredding things to death. Preferably Draco Malfoy or Pansy Parkinson. As if she needed jealousy on top of worry and...  
  
And then there was that other matter. Why on Earth should she be jealous over Chaos? Surely she had no need to be, she had Severus. But she'd been so used to having Chaos like her, seeing him with another girl just bothered her no end. A small part of her mind pointed out that Severus was rarely around anymore, and it's hard to remain totally faithful in mind and heart to someone who is so often gone. But then, Chaos didn't even understand half the words she said!  
  
"Why has my life suddenly turned to crap?" she asked out loud, covering her eyes with her arms.  
  
"...Lady?"  
  
"Go away, Chaos. I don't want to know. I've not no more vacancy to be miserable for right now. I might be able to fit some more misery in later, though, so be sure to check in at another time," she spat, and rolled over onto her side, curling her legs up by her stomach. Chaos touched her arm lightly, but she jerked it away. "I said, go away Chaos. I do not want to be touched. I do not want to be spoken to. I do not want to be looked at. Now go."  
  
Chaos, saddened immensely, left the dorm silently.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter's next day at school was hellish.  
  
Potions was boring, as normal, without her Snape. Now, more than ever, she wished for him to come back. She had no one to hold her and tell her things would be all right. She had no shoulder to cry on, to arm to keep her from falling to her knees.  
  
She wanted Severus to be back. She didn't want him to be a Death Eater. She didn't want him to be in danger all the time. She stomped to The Great Hall for lunch, thinking angry thoughts. She didn't want Draco to have told their secret. She didn't want Draco to be alive. She didn't want Chaos to exist anymore, she never wanted to have met him, why couldn't everything just go back to normal?  
  
She had never noticed how many classes she had with Draco and Chaos until today. She avoided eye contact with them, instead throwing herself into her work. But despite her studious attitude, it was damn hard to ignore Pansy's giggles from across the room. Jupiter glanced up once, to see her leaning against Chaos's arm and looking at him winsomely. She refrained from looking up anymore.  
  
Finally, after Divination, in the hallway, Chaos grabbed her arm.  
  
"Lady, stop running away."  
  
"Listen, Chaos! I don't want to talk to you!" she cried, and broke out of his grip.  
  
"Lady-"  
  
"No, Chaos!" She rounded on him angrily. "I don't want you to be here anymore! I don't want you to exist! I don't want you to talk to me, or touch me, or watch me, or smell me, or anything! I really just want you to leave me alone!" she screamed. She was well aware of her classmates staring at her in shock. She ran off down the hallway, crying.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter ran into her room and slammed the door. She paced back and forth, clutching and un-clutching her hands, tears running down her face.  
  
"Why does everything have to be so uncomfortable?" she wailed. And things were. She felt the emptiness of having Severus gone, the fear of Lucius Malfoy using her against her beloved, and having Chaos around was like having sand in your bed. Not deadly, but it made everything terribly uncomfortable.  
  
What could she do? She was sick of school, a feeling that had never before posessed her. She'd always loved school, its busyness, the fact that it wasn't so empty and alone as her house back in Greece was. And now she didn't want to be here anymore. She didn't know where she wanted to be. She wanted to find Severus and move away with him, somewhere. Another world, where they didn't have to deal with things like Chaos or Voldemort.  
  
She sighed, and fell back on her bed. She didn't have the energy to cry anymore, and it felts like her tear ducts were dry in any case.  
  
There had to be something she could do to feel better.  
  
***  
  
"What's wrong, Draco?" Harry asked, leaning his head against Draco's shoulder.  
  
"Nothing, Harry...I'm just distressed."  
  
"Why? Your father isn't still getting you down, is he?"  
  
"Why does everyone always assume it's my father I'm having problems with?!" Draco cried, sitting up quickly and hitting his head on the bottom of the bathroom sink, "Owww..."  
  
"Ouch. I'm sorry, Draco...I just-"  
  
"No, no...you were mostly right," he said, rubbing his head, "It's just that Jupiter guessed the same thing. I didn't know it was so obvious. But yes, it is mostly my father that's bothering me."  
  
"How so, dear?" Harry asked, kissing Draco's ear lightly.  
  
"First of all, I'm not ready to be called 'dear' yet. Secondly, if you want me to tell you a story, don't go kissing me there."  
  
"Sorry, Draco."  
  
"Please, call me Malfoy," Draco joked. It had always been a pet peeve of his when Harry and his friends called him 'Malfoy' instead of 'Draco'. And then Draco proceeded to tell Harry the whole story of him and Jupiter and the howler, and so on. At the end, Harry only had one thing to say.  
  
"Ew...Snape?" he said, and made a face. Draco would have hit him with a pillow were there one available.  
  
***  
  
In a tiny clearing in a forest outside Hogsmeade, the Death Eaters formed a circle, The Circle. They waited, standing in anticipation, until their Lord arrived.  
  
Severus Snape was among them, and almost visibly flinched when Voldemort Apparated. But luckily, the Dark Lord's back was to him. Snape had been more and more stressed lately, and was on the verge of breaking. All he could hope was that it would all be over soon. Little did he know that it quite probably would.  
  
"Master," Lucius said quietly, "I bring you news."  
  
Voldemort turned to Lucius. "Yes, Lucius?"  
  
"Master, Severus Snape has not been faithful to you. He IS not faithful to you."  
  
Snape's heart froze, and he stood still. If he fled, it would prove Lucius right. Lucius was probably bluffing anyway, he couldn't have any proof, could he? Could Snape pull off this fantastic lie?  
  
"You know this, Lucius?"  
  
"I have reason to believe, Master." Ah. So he didn't have any proof. That gave Severus better odds at bluffing his own way out of it.  
  
"Actually, Lucius, I have reason to believe you are right," the Dark Lord whispered, shooting a glance at Snape that burned right through his facade. Severus knew, right then, that if he didn't move NOW, he would die. He Disapparated, and Voldemort nodded gravely.  
  
"Let him go," he said, holding up a restraining had as some of the other Death Eaters prepared to Apparate. Goyle, who'd all ready begun, splinched himself mildly, and had to be magicked back together. "He will be taken care of soon enough."  
  
"Master, if I might make a suggestion...?"  
  
"What is it, Lucius?"  
  
"Severus has been having an affair with a student of his, Jupiter Vrij. I have reason to believe that she is one of his greatest weaknesses."  
  
"Can any of you confirm this?" Voldemort said, and two heads nodded. Voldemort seemed satisfied. "I am pleased, Lucius. I will send someone to fetch her. Aberidge!"  
  
A hooded figure stepped forward and nodded smartly.  
  
"Retrieve this Jupiter. Bring her to me."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Voldemort's eyes narrowed. He had a horrid temper for stupidity and defiance, but this one was an important insider, and much more faithful than Snape. "Because I command it!"  
  
"Does she belong to you?"  
  
"Yes! She does, in fact. Does she not, Vrij?" he said with a hideous smile. He looked at another Death Eater, who nodded emphatically. "She was given to me. I want to collect her. Now go!"  
  
Chaos nodded sadly and Disapparated.  
  
***  
  
Severus Apparated as close to Hogwarts as was allowed and made a break for it. He could only hope he'd make it inside before anyone caught up with him. No sooner had he thought that than a hooded figure Apparated close to him. Severus tried to push himself to go faster.  
  
Soon he noticed that the figure was walking towards Hogwarts almost leisurely. Obviously a trick to get him to slow down. Well, Snape wasn't about to let the opportunity to get a huge head start pass by. He sprinted all the way to the front doors of castle, brushing past a confused-looking girl, and rushed inside, and to Dumbledore's office, with a few shouted passwords on the way.  
  
When he finally made his way up to Dumbledore's office, panting and heaving, Dumbledore sat him down in a chair and offered him a cup of tea, specially prepared for him. Snape didn't know how Dumbledore knew he was coming, but he was in no condition to worry about it anyway.  
  
"Lucius said...Voldemort...I was going to die..." he gasped, but Dumbledore hushed him and pressed the tea into Snape's trembling fingers. He took a long sip, and sighed deeply.  
  
"Now, Severus, tell me what happened," Dumbledore said quietly, once Snape seemed recovered enough to form sentences. Once the occasion had been recounted, Dumbledore gave the haggard man a sad, yet relieved look. "I guess this is the end of your spying days, young Severus."  
  
Snape had never wanted to hear that phrase more in his life. And while he didn't feel like a 'young Severus' any more, he was immensely ready to leave the whole Voldemort business behind. He felt bad, knowing that he was the only inside source Dumbledore had, but he could hardly go back, could he? Not if he was going to be killed.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter lay on her bed, tired and depressed. She missed Severus, missed Draco. It was all her fault, too. She should never have gotten involved with Severus, never have told Draco. Now Severus would lose his job, and Draco would never speak to her again. That was something she was so good at, messing things up. She wondered if it wasn't too late to try and set things right...?  
  
She decided she'd go find Chaos, since she really had no reason to be mad at him, and it would be easier to apologize. She got up and made her way downstairs and outside, without much trouble.  
  
It was dusk, and the sky was misty and a little chill, but mostly nice. She stood on the steps for a moment, and breathed in the beautiful, cool country air. It smelled like rain, which cheered Jupiter a lot. If Chaos wasn't outside, she thought, it would be no big deal. She walked down the marble steps and stood in the wet grass, enjoying their cold moisture under her bare feet.  
  
It was then that she looked up, and saw that a dark figure was hurtling towards the doors, and as he shoved past Jupiter, she saw who it was.  
  
"Severus!" she cried, but he was gone down the hallway. She started back in after him, Chaos forgotten, but then she heard someone shout.  
  
"Lady! Lady!" and her silver-haired friend approached her.  
  
"Oh, hello Chaos!" she said. She supposed she could find Severus later, though her heart ached to see him again. She sighed and looked up at Chaos. "Look, I want to..."  
  
"No, Lady. Do not speak. Come with me."  
  
Jupiter was confused, but the boy had a death grip on her wrist and he was dragging her away from the school. She followed him, vaguely wondering why they were heading to the forest, and if he knew it was dangerous.  
  
***  
  
Chaos was furious. Lady belonged to HIM. Not to Voldemort. His Lady. HIS Lady. HIS! He rounded on Jupiter once the two of them were inside the forest. He grabbed her to him and fought internally.  
  
"Master says...Master says..." he mumbled, looking around dodgily, "But I...Master says..."  
  
Jupiter was confused, and more than a little scare, but she trusted Chaos insofar as to know he wouldn't harm her. Her bare feet were uncomfortable, standing on the sticks and twigs on the forest floor. She was just about to tell Chaos to let her go when Chaos turned and looked into her face. She froze, and looked into his good eye. She saw something there that horrified her beyond belief. It was something she'd never excepted to see in that crazy green eye...Lust. The violent, animalistic, male need to mark their territory, one way or another.  
  
"My Lady," he growled in her face, teeth bared, "MY Lady!"  
  
Jupiter opened her mouth and let out a yelp. She struggled to get away from Chaos, but the boy was a great deal stronger than her. Finally she threw herself away from him, and made a mad dash for the edge of the forest. Chaos ran quickly ahead of her and blocked her way. Desperately, she turned around and headed deeper into the forest, with Chaos running through the brush with ease behind her.  
  
Jupiter could feel her chest begin to tighten as the asthma took hold, but she didn't stop. She could hear Chaos shouting, and once or twice she felt the touch of his fingertips on her back, spurring her on, faster and faster.  
  
She wanted to scream, wanted to cry, but she didn't have the lung capacity. She couldn't keep going, not like this. It was a losing battle. She ran straight into a rock face. To high to climb, too wide to go around. Chaos had cornered a wheezing Jupiter, who was looking fast for a way out. She knew she couldn't run anymore, her asthma was killing her.  
  
"Why do you run, Lady?"  
  
"Chaos..." she said, and had to gasp for oxygen after every word, "Don't...do...this..."  
  
Jupiter doubled over, breathing desperately, trying to keep her lungs from imploding. Then Chaos grabbed her, and spoke, his face not more than an inch away from hers.  
  
"Dance with me, Lady."  
  
***  
  
Jupiter awoke, slowly.  
  
The last thing she remembered was the sensation of pain as her clothing was torn from her by long, sharp-nailed fingers. Then her lungs finally gave up, and she passed out. Now here she was, naked and cut, probably from those same nails. She sat up and felt distinctly painful in her lower regions, which she found to be bleeding, also. She then noticed where she was. She looked around her, at a group of sinister-looking cloaks, draped over their anonymous owners. She recognized it immediately. It was a hated memory of her childhood. She stood up quickly, trying to retain dignity, even while undressed.  
  
"Ah, Vrij," came the hissing, whispery voice that had haunted Jupiter's dreams as a child, "Jupiter, is it not?"  
  
Jupiter, neither cowering in fear, nor bristling with rage, stood inside the circle of Death Eaters. She knew, had seen what happened to people who stood inside The Circle. And she was terrified out of her mind.  
  
Then the Dark Lord spoke again, "Jupiter, I turned you away as a child, do you remember?"  
  
Jupiter did not reply, but he knew she remembered. She remembered everything...  
  
***  
  
It was many years ago, and Jupiter was six. She was excited, she was about to be judged.  
  
"Now Jupiter," her father said, cradling her on his lap, "I want you to remember, The Dark Lord Voldemort is going to come tonight. He is going to judge you, and tell you whether or not you are fit to be one of his. You want to be one of his, don't you?" he said, in an encouraging way.  
  
Jupiter nodded enthusiastically. She hoped she was good enough, good enough to be like her parents and live up to her father's expectations. Her father had smiled and patted her tummy.  
  
"If you are chosen tonight, Jupiter, I will be so proud of you!" her father cooed at her. She hugged him around his neck.  
  
"He'll choose me tonight, father, I know he will!" she cried, and she jumped off her father's lap and hurried off to her room.  
  
She'd had the servants clothe her in a dress as green as poison, and had them put her hair up in a french braid. She'd spent a good hour admiring herself in the mirror and tweaking her outfit before her mother called her downstairs. She bounded downstairs and into the kitchen, where her mother was standing. Her mother was in her ritual robes, and she smiled as Jupiter came down.  
  
"I've gotten you something!" she said, smiling brightly. Jupiter's face lit up.  
  
"What?"  
  
Her mother produced a package from behind her back, and handed it to Jupiter. The little girl tore open the package and pulled out the present gleefully. "My own robes! Just like yours, with the hood and everything!" She hastily put them on, and then hugged her mother.  
  
"You're so darling in those!" she said, and hugged her daughter. "Now, go in the living room. He'll be here any minute!"  
  
Jupiter had been allowed to stay up late for the occasion, and it was nearly midnight when Voldemort Apparated into the living room. There was no bang, no puff of smoke, just a small pop, and the appearance of the Dark Lord.  
  
"Is this the girl?" he'd asked her father. His voice sounded like a plague of locusts, like a hissing, scratching, forced noise. Her father nodded. "Hello, Jupiter," he said, and Jupiter gathered up her nerves.  
  
"Hello, Master," she said, in just the manner she had been taught. Voldemort laughed and looked at her father.  
  
"She is trained well, Hayredin. I confess I am impressed."  
  
Hayredin smiled and gave a small bow. "Thank you, Master."  
  
Voldemort lifted the girl up with a wave of his wand, and had a good look at her. She giggled once at the factshe was flying, but supressed it quickly. Voldemort peered into her eyes. She could feel those red orbs probing thourgh her head, into the back of her mind, and she did not turn away. After what seemed like an hour, Jupiter was set down, and Voldemort looked at her parents.  
  
"She will not do. She can never be one of mine."  
  
"Master," began her father, "Surely-"  
  
"Do you accuse me of seeing incorrectly?" The Dark Lord asked in a menacing whisper.  
  
"No, master!" her father cried, and fell to his knees. And without any more words, Voldemort disappeared. Jupiter had looked at her father, who gave her one look of total, utter disappointment, and left. Jupiter could feel the tears coming, could feel her tiny heart breaking. Her mother looked at her with a look of loss, but she gave Jupiter a kiss on the forehead, and then both her parents left the room.  
  
Jupiter crawled miserably up onto the couch. He hadn't chosen her! He hadn't thought she was worthy! She began crying, now, she cried harder than she could remember ever having done before. She had disappointed her mother and father, and she knew, at that moment, the shame she brought to her family. She spent the rest of the night on the couch, crying, until she fell asleep. And she'd lived with that guilt ever since...always knew she was a failure, and that it was her fault she'd not been chosen. She was just wrong. She was broken, somehow. She-  
  
"I see you do remember, Jupiter," said Voldemort, jerking her from her reverie, "You do. You were unfit. You were disappointing. You were unworthy!" he hissed, and Jupiter fought back the tears she hadn't cried since she was young, "You could never be, can never be one of us, one of mine."  
  
Jupiter's shoulders shook silently, and she shut her eyes tight to stop herself crying. Nonetheless, a tear escaped the crush of her eyelids and slid down her cheek. She could feel the disdainful glares of the assemble rank on her, disapproving.  
  
"Tears?" Voldemort said, mockingly, "You cry because of the dishonor you cause? What happened to the fiery little brat I saw so many years ago? You are not only unworthy, you are weak."  
  
Jupiter, despite all her years of self-discipline in matters of emotion, despite her unwillingness to be made a fool of, broke out into a sob. She shuddered with the force of her tears. She had always known, always known it, that she was a disgrace and a fluke. But to hear it all said to her, by the very person she was brought up to love and revere, was too much. She dropped to her knees in grief.  
  
Voldemort made a strange hissing noise, which she soon identified as laughter. It rasped and it wheezed in a horrible, tomb-dry sound of cruel mirth. And the moment he stopped this cacophony, his voice turned deep and rash.  
  
"Crucio." 


	2. Chapter 4

Severus sat at his desk, after Potions class. He was incredibly worried. He'd arrived nearly a week ago, and Jupiter hadn't shown for class. That was about as usual as him awarding points to Gryffindor. She would never miss Potions, not even if she was sick, something he was always chastising her for.  
  
He'd looked for her, didn't know where she was. No one had heard from her, and he didn't even know where to look for her. He'd checked Hogsmeade and the surrounding area. He'd checked all of Hogwarts. He'd even owled her house (and got no reply). Still she eluded him.  
  
He stood, and began pacing. It wasn't like her to disappear without a trace. Dumbledore had said he'd look into it, but Snape couldn't help but feel useless, sitting in his office or quarters, or teaching classes, acting as if life was normal, when he didn't know if Jupiter was even still alive.  
  
"Professor Snape?" came a voice from the doorway. Severus's head snapped up and his eyes darted to the doorway. It was Chaos. "Professor, there is something."  
  
"Something?" Snape asked, "What on earth are you talking about boy? Come on, spit it out!"  
  
"It concerns the Lady."  
  
"Good gods, man, what lady?"  
  
"The Lady. She...Smells of mint..."  
  
Snape stopped dead in his tracks. "Jupiter?" he said, shocked. Chaos nodded slowly.  
  
"She needs you."  
  
Snape's heart skipped a beat. "What happened to her? Is she hurt? Where can I find her?"  
  
"You can't. You can't find her. Master wants you to be loyal, he wants you to spy on Hogwarts. If you disagree, he..." the boy choked, "He will...kill The Lady."  
  
Severus froze. He stared at the boy in disbelief. "What can I do?"  
  
Chaos began shaking. "You will go to the Castle of Shadow, in Mortein City. You will tell Master that you are loyal. He will torture you, and show you that forgiveness comes at a price. Then you will become his again, and The Lady will be set free."  
  
Not bloody likely, thought Snape. Voldemort? Spare someone's life? The very idea was laughable. Perhaps he could find her, though.  
  
"Where can I find Jupiter in the castle?" he asked Chaos. Chaos nodded.  
  
"I thought so." Chaos extended a hand, and Snape saw that his fingers were bruised. Chaos dropped a piece of paper in Severus's hand and then bowed to him. With that, he left.  
  
Severus opened the paper. "Lady -24 floor Castle of Shadow," it read.  
  
Severus was very confused indeed. However, he had to find someone who knew Jupiter.  
  
As he ran, he realized what little about Jupiter's life he knew. He didn't know who her friends were...But wait, he'd heard her speaking with the Malfoy boy...He'd find Draco.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter, tired and sore, skin still burning from the curse, looked up into the faceless darkness of the Death Eaters' hoods.  
  
"Mum..." she said quietly, "Mum?"  
  
There was no response.  
  
"Mum...?" Jupiter said again, and Voldemort shook his head, and gave off an air of smugness.  
  
"Your mum isn't here, Jupiter. She's dead. Your father killed her."  
  
Jupiter found that she wasn't surprised, but felt worse. If there had been anyone available to keep her from this, it would be her mother. But if her mother was dead there wasn't a soul on Earth to save her now.  
  
She sat up quietly, and saw that Voldemort's back was turned to her. She wondered why. She stood, shakily, and walked around the inside of The Circle stupidly, peering around. She spotted a gap in The Circle. She wondered if Severus stood there...? Then a light went off in her brain. A gap in The Circle. A way out. With Voldemort's back turned. Wait...it was too easy. Still...perhaps...She would take her chances. She sprinted out of the circle, and Voldemort spun around easily and shouted the Imperius Curse.  
  
Jupiter stopped running, and walked back into The Circle sedately. She sat down obediently and The Circle closed. Voldemort stepped in front of her, and then she knew she had to stand. She did. She knew she had to turn in a circle. She did. She knew she had to bite her hand. She did. Harder. Harder. She had to draw blood. She did.  
  
"You can almost out-stare the Dark Lord, you dared to run away from The Circle, you even took your mother's death with bravery and acceptance. All these strong points, with such a strong sense of self and an independent mind, yet you cannot resist the Imperius Curse? You are an enigma, Jupiter. Unfortunately, I cannot use you as a Death Eater. But perhaps there are other ways. Stupefy!"  
  
And Jupiter fell to the ground, unconscious.  
  
***  
  
Chaos, walked out into the forest quietly, and then lay down. He knew he didn't have much more time, so he shut his eyes and lost consiousness.  
  
Minutes later, he gave a forlorn moan and his eyelids flickered.  
  
He was standing in the forest. Jupiter was lying on a stone in front of him, naked, bloody, and unconscious as he'd left her. Voldemort was standing off to the right, calling Chaos to him.  
  
He turned to his Master and began walking towards him, and Voldemort held up a hand and pointed at Jupiter. Chaos wandered over to her, lifted her up. She was warm and soft and light, and Chaos wanted to keep her. But still Voldemort beckoned. Chaos came closer and closer to the Dark Lord, and then suddenly he stopped.  
  
He heard a voice. It was like an angel, he thought, calling him. Instinctively, he looked up. There was a great light, and Chaos saw his mother above him, smiling. She called for him, and reached down a hand. He reached up to take it, but Voldemort snatched him away.  
  
Chaos turned to his master angrily as the vision of his mother faded. And then, Voldemort spoke.  
  
***  
  
Draco was sitting in the Slytherin common room, reading the book Harry had loaned him, "Manners, a guide to finding and using them". He was, thus far, not amused.  
  
"Draco!" a troubled-looking Snape appeared in the doorway. He ran into the room and grabbed Draco by the collar. "Where's Jupiter?"  
  
"How the hell should I know?" Draco said, angrily. "Bitch disappeared after blowing me off. Probably off fooling around with that Chaos guy, if I've any mind. Will you put me down?"  
  
"Fooling around with this Chaos guy? Does she do this often?" Snape hissed.  
  
Draco shrugged. "I don't bloody well care. I'm not her keeper, you know."  
  
"You're coming with me, Malfoy!" the older man growled, and Draco followed him out of the common room, complaining that he was supposed to be meeting someone. But Severus ignored him. When he was certain they were alone, he turned to Draco. "Listen, Draco...Jupiter's been captured by Voldemort. He's going to kill her if I don't return to him. Now stop being a prat and talk to me!"  
  
Draco looked at Snape with shock and fear in his expression. "What?"  
  
"Jupiter. You know who that is, don't you? She's been captured by Voldemort. Perhaps you've heard of him, too? He's this Dark Lord, who tortu-"  
  
"Okay, okay, I know what you're talking about!" Draco snapped. Then he sighed. "What do you want me for?"  
  
"Do you know anything about Voldemort? Or anyone who knows anything about him?"  
  
"Yeah, you."  
  
Snape rolled his eyes, "Malfoy, this is not the time for your 'witty' remarks. I'm not prepared to deal with this by myself, and I don't want to get the Ministry involved."  
  
"Why not?" asled Draco. "I'm sure trained Aurors would be much better at this than anyone I'd know."  
  
"Well," said Snape, "Cornelius Fudge is still in denial about Voldemort, and will refuse to let the Aurors come. We went through this last year, when that Gryffindor third year attacked you."  
  
That seemed to hit home. "Well, okay," Draco agreed.  
  
"Good. Now, is there anyone you can think of? Anything, anyone you know that could help?"  
  
A light went off in Draco's head. He held up a finger and ran off.  
  
When he returned, he was dragging Harry Potter, who was in his pajamas. "Let's go!" Draco shouted, and swept past Snape, who followed him swiftly.  
  
"Draco," Snape hissed, "Why in Panagaea's name are we bringing Potter along?"  
  
"Yeah? What do you guys need me for?" Harry agreed.  
  
"Because," Draco said, glaring at Harry, "He's the hero, of course. He's tops at defeating Dark Lords, aren't you, Harry?" Draco said, and Harry blushed, shooting a dirty look at Draco.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter awoke groggily for the second time that night. She was in a dismal looking room, and there was nothing on the grey walls expect for a painting of a girl.  
  
"Hello?" Jupiter called, feeling rather daft.  
  
"Hello!" the girl said, "How are you?"  
  
"I'm a little naked at the moment, how are you?"  
  
"Oh, I'm just fine, thanks! My name is Kira! Would you like some sheets?" she asked, in a very chipper voice.  
  
"Yes I would, thanks." Jupiter said, and some sheets fell from the ceiling. They were all white and pretty dirty. Jupiter wrapped herself up in one, and made herself a kind of a nest with the rest of them. "I don't suppose you could tell me the way out, too?"  
  
Kira smiled good-naturedly. "I could, but if you try to use it, I'll have to alert Voldemort, and he'll get you."  
  
"And there's no way around this?" Jupiter asked.  
  
"Nope. I never sleep, and I never leave. And I never tire of watching prisoners, like you! Especially the ones who try to escape, those are my favorites! Do you think you'll try to escape?"  
  
Jupiter sighed, "Probably not, in that case."  
  
Kira looked sad. "Are you sure? All you need to do is say the password, and I open up, and you can climb through me, and then you're out! Then all you have to do is jump into the boat halfway down the underground river, and take it until you get to the waterfall! And then you go down the waterfall and you're home free! Doesn't that inspire you to break free?"  
  
Jupiter groaned. Just what she needed. A sadistic watch-portrait.  
  
***  
  
The three boys stood in the clearing where the Death Eaters had just recently been assembled. There was blood on the ground in the middle of the clearing, and Snape was terribly frightened that he knew whose it was. Draco looked at Harry.  
  
"'Kay, Potter, this is where you come in. Now what do we do?" he asked, and Harry glared at him.  
  
"Look, Draco, I don't ruddy well know! I didn't ask to come along, you might remember. When I asked you if you wanted to do something tonight, I didn't mean defeat the Dark Lord!"  
  
"Well, you haven't done it all year, you need to keep in practice!"  
  
"Well, I don't normally do it until the end of the year, when I've finally gathered enough information to know what to do!"  
  
"Stop it, both of you," Severus snapped, "Just shut up. We can't do anything tonight. Now hold on a moment while I collect some of this blood."  
  
"B-blood?" Draco asked, swallowing hard. He hadn't noticed the crimson pool of blood and dirt until just now. "Whose?"  
  
"Probably Jupiter's." Snape shuddered at the idea, but managed to put a decent amount of it into a vial.  
  
Then the three of them went back to Hogwarts, to see what they could do.  
  
***  
  
Then Voldemort spoke.  
  
"Chaos, wake up."  
  
Chaos woke up groggily, looking up into his master's red eyes. His other eye - or the place where it used to be - was sore. He reached his hand over to adjust his eye patch, and his fingers touched flesh. He flinched in pain and pulled his fingers away. They were slick with blood. He wiped his fingers off on his pants and sat up slowly.  
  
"Chaos, you did well. Severus will come for her soon."  
  
Chaos nodded numbly, and shut his eye. "The Lady is all right?"  
  
"The Lady," Voldemort said the phrase with distaste, "Will not be harmed."  
  
Chaos seemed satisfied, and lay back down to sleep.  
  
***  
  
It had been many years ago, Hayredin knew. He had wanted only the best for his family. His wife, Pontia, had been very happy to side with the Dark Lord, as had his oldest son. Auryn had not wanted to, but had left home early for a gypsy's life. Jupiter had been quite ready to become a Death Eater, but had failed.  
  
It had been a most embarrassing situation. He and Pontia and Jupiter had been waiting expectantly for Jupiter's judging. And Voldemort had turned her down. At that moment, he'd lost any hope for the rest of his children, and never asked them to turn to the Dark Arts. He'd given Jupiter to Voldemort, in the vain hope that she would become useful at some point, so that he could live down this shame. It worked, but Hayredin's sense of honor still bothered him about it. He began to loathe his daughter, the daughter that disgraced him. The daughter that had failed to be good enough for his Master. Only her mother still held affection for her, though she would not show it around Hayredin.  
  
She had given Jupiter a necklace, upon which was written "E Moni Panton Elpis", which was their native tongue for "The only hope of anything." Since the day Hayredin had found out about that necklace, he'd doubted his wife's loyalty to the Dark Lord.  
  
And now, recently, he'd found out that she wasn't faithful to her Master, and he'd told Voldemort. He'd been ordered to kill her, and had done so. She'd been looking at him defiantly when he'd shouted the Killing Curse, and it still bothered him, just a little.  
  
Still, Jupiter was in the hands of his Master, and finally serving some purpose in her whole miserable life. He looked at her, wrapped in dirty sheets, talking to a portrait. She was sharp-tongued and sarcastic, and a lot like him, he realized. But she got her fiery temper and strong will from her mother. It's a shame she seemed to be more like her idiotic mother where it counted, instead of like Hayredin himself.  
  
***  
  
"Jupiter."  
  
Jupiter looked up, through the cell's bars. A dark figure stood there, looking in at her. "Hello, Hayredin," she said, nonchalantly.  
  
"You recognize me."  
  
"You're my father."  
  
"You haven't heard from me in many years."  
  
"I'm not as big an idiot as you think I am. I'm not even as big an idiot as I think you are, Hayredin."  
  
"You're very cocky for a prisoner of the Dark Lord."  
  
"So are you."  
  
Hayredin's temper flared, but he didn't let it show. "Impudence does not do you well."  
  
"Well, neither does being locked in a cell with Mrs. Perky over here." She pointed to the painting spitefully.  
  
"You have a quick temper."  
  
"Gee, you're awfully good at pointing out the obvious, aren't you? Honestly, Hayredin, I'm locked in a cell, naked, with some dirty sheets and a stupid painting, being held hostage by the Dark Lord! I think I'm entitled to be a little irritable!"  
  
Hayredin glared at his daughter for a while. Then turned and started to walk away.  
  
"Hey, dad?"  
  
Hayredin stopped. She'd never called him 'dad' before. It was an odd feeling. He tuned back, and she looked at him.  
  
"You know, I haven't seen you since I was...what...six?" she said, and it was true. Hayredin had never spent any time at home since Voldemort had shown Jupiter to be a failure.  
  
"What's your point?"  
  
"Take off your hood."  
  
Hayredin didn't see the harm in it. He lifted his hood away from his face. Jupiter took a long look at his gaunt face, his long black hair, his bright grey eyes. He looked tired and sick, and Jupiter knew exactly how he felt.  
  
"Well?" Hayredin glared at his miserable wreck of a daughter.  
  
"You look like shit."  
  
He gave a tiny smile, and replaced his hood. Then he left.  
  
***  
  
"Well? What's going on? Is she all right?" Draco tried to peer over Snape's shoulder into his scrying well.  
  
"She's alive, and from the looks of it as snappy as ever," Severus said, worriedly. Jupiter was the only person he knew who would be snotty to the Dark Lord. While it made him proud that she was so strong against absolute authority, she could also get herself killed that way. He could only hope she knew when to stop.  
  
"Do you know where she is?" Draco asked, and Severus shook his head.  
  
"I can put a tracking spell on her, but I need some of her blood, or hair..."  
  
"Well, use the blood you got from the clearing," Draco suggested, and Snape rolled his eyes.  
  
"You great git, Malfoy, what do you suppose I used for this?"  
  
"Oh. Well...I guess we have to go back and get more."  
  
Harry groaned, but Snape shook his head. "I collected all I could. I guess we have to check this..." He pulled the paper out of his robes.  
  
"Who wrote that?" asked Draco, trying to peer at it.  
  
"Jason, I assume. He gave it to me."  
  
"Jason?"  
  
"Tall boy, grey hair, eye patch," Snape said, turning the parchment over.  
  
"Oh, Chaos," Draco said. Snape shrugged and then spoke.  
  
"Well, it must mean the 24th floor of the castle. That's an awfully tall castle, considering."  
  
"What's that dash there?"  
  
"Obviously a slip of the hand, Draco," said Harry, "That boy doesn't seem too stable, Draco. You should know that."  
  
"Well, it could mean the negative 24th floor, you don't know!" said Draco, nettled.  
  
"Shush, both of you!" Snape snapped. They stopped arguing.  
  
"Well," said Harry, "Now we know where to go. Let's get a move on!"  
  
"Just a moment there, Potter," Snape said, "It may be all right for you and your friends to rush off unprepared, but I myself would feel better taking on the Dark Lord with some form of weaponry."  
  
Harry turned red, as Snape swept up to a cabinet and unlocked it. He carefully chose a number of vials, wrapped them in cloth, and tucked them into various places in his robe.  
  
"Now, we may go."  
  
***  
  
A great many Floo gates later, Draco, Harry, and Severus tumbled out into a small building with a small man behind the counter. He looked unsurprised to see them.  
  
"Do you have reservations, sirs?" he asked.  
  
"No," snapped Draco irritably, "We don't. But we're looking to have a mad orgy, so if-OW!"  
  
Snape had clipped him in the back of the head. "Forgive him, he's a little rude. We're looking for the Castle of Shadow."  
  
The little man looked askance at them. "It's midnight, sirs, and besides, it's closed to visitation. It closed to the public a few weeks ago."  
  
Harry nodded. "We know. We're...umm..."  
  
Draco stepped forward. "We're the help. We're volunteers, to help with the restoration of it."  
  
The man looked suspicious, but he gave them rough directions on the back of a matchbook. The front of it read "The Flea's Lodge in the Hills! Visit anytime!"  
  
They left, thanking the man, and walked out into the town. It was full of lights and traffic, and oddly-dressed witches and magically aware muggles walked past them.  
  
"Hello, gorgeous..." came a mesmerizing voice from the alley the three males were walking past. A beautiful girl with long blonde hair and tight leather clothes on stepped out of the shadows. "Wanna party?"  
  
Draco smiled, but Snape grabbed the two boys by the collars and dragged them off, glaring at the girl.  
  
"Draco!" protested Harry as they were swept along, "I thought you were gay!"  
  
Draco shrugged, "I'm not loyal to either side. I just root for whatever side's winning."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Spoken like a true Slytherin."  
  
***  
  
Eventually they made it to the outside of the castle, and they looked up at it. Standing there, in all its glory, was a hideously twisted mansion, straight out of a bad horror flick. There seemed to be a perpetual storm around it, which would have been creepy enough were it not all ready nighttime.  
  
"Is it always this weird when you go to defeat the Dark Lord, Harry?"  
  
"Draco?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Shut up."  
  
***  
  
"Or you could try to saw through the bars, and turn down the small corridor until-"  
  
Jupiter glared at Kira. "Don't you have anything better to do?"  
  
"Nope!" she grinned cheerfully. "And turn down the small corridor until you reach a door. Now, ignore this door, and instead try to reach the-"  
  
"You know what?" Jupiter shouted.  
  
"What?" Kira leaned forwards on her hinges.  
  
"Why don't you shut up, and maybe I'll escape!"  
  
"Oooh, all right. My password is 'gutterf*ck', by the way!"  
  
That would figure. It's not like the Dark Lord would have a password be 'fluffballs'. Jupiter wondered how on Earth you pronounced the *.  
  
Oh well. The silence was nice, for a change. She peered out of the bars on her cell, there didn't seem to be anyone there. If she was going to escape, she'd have to do it now. She looked around, and thought fast. She looked down at her sheets, and up at Kira.  
  
Aha!  
  
***  
  
Jupiter was crawling along the underground passageway, with Kira screaming behind her. She just had to find the boat, and the river. And she couldn't pause, not even for a moment. If she paused, they might head her off, or catch her.  
  
It was hard going; the rough stone scraped at her knees, even through the sheet she'd wrapped around herself, and it was hard to see before her through her mass of tangled, dirty black hair.  
  
She heard a rushing noise, the river! She peered around the corner of the opening of the tiny crawl space. There was a large cave around the river, that stretched either way into the darkness. Then Jupiter spotted the boat. Her heart skipped a beat until she noticed something. There was a group of Death Eaters clustered there. Damn! She backed up a little, and thought that she might have heard a scritching noise behind her. It could have been her imagination, Death Eaters don't use crawl spaces, do they? She couldn't afford to take the chance. There was only one option.  
  
She crawled out of the passageway as quietly as she could, and managed to inch a few feet along the wall before one of the Death Eaters noticed her. Then she turned tail and fled. She could hear the shouts behind her, and the pounding footsteps, but she kept running. She couldn't let her asthma get her this time. She had to be quick, and not falter for a silly thing like not being able to breathe. She would stop when she was dead.  
  
"Stairs?" Jupiter cried, as a thin, ugly staircase loomed up out of the darkness. But she didn't stop, just began taking them, three at a time.  
  
***  
  
"Wow, this place is spooky."  
  
"Shhh!"  
  
"Hey, what's this? Lumos!"  
  
The two younger boys let out a yelp. There was an old, decrepit man standing before them, but his deformed eyes were not focused on anything in the mortal world. This could have something to do with the fact that they were nailed to the wall on either side of his head.  
  
"That would be scary enough if he wasn't grinning..." Harry mumbled.  
  
"I'm going to have nightmares for weeks!" Draco said, mournfully. Snape hushed them, and gestured them to the dingy staircase he'd found. They headed up it, and up until they reached a platform. There was a door there, and on the door were the words, "+1st Floor."  
  
They kept going, and at the second platform they came to, the door read "+2nd Floor."  
  
"Harry, Snape, wait. The note Chaos left, it read negative 24th Floor, didn't it?" Draco asked. The others nodded. "Well, since these are plus 1 and plus 2-"  
  
"Perhaps the negative means that she's underground!" Harry finished.  
  
"Which makes ME right, and YOU wrong!" Draco said with glee. Snape sighed harshly and began nudging the boys down the stairs. He was beginning to wonder why he couldn't have done this on his own.   
  
They went down...and down...and down... As they got farther down, the walls disappeared, and there was only void to replace them. There was no handrail, and so the three were very careful. Well, mostly.  
  
"Kay, bye Harry!" Draco shouted, and gave his lover a playful shove. But Harry wasn't balanced properly, and began to slip backwards. He might soon have been The Boy Who Died if Severus hadn't grabbed the boy at the last minute, and pulled him up into his arms to steady him.  
  
Snape smacked Draco with the back of his hand.  
  
"This isn't a joke. You could have killed him, you twit! No more horseplay on the staircase! (a/n: my mother always used to say that...)" Snape snapped sternly.  
  
Draco rubbed his cheek reproachfully. Were he not so upset, he may have found it amusing that Snape protected Harry against Draco, a switch from the normal. They kept going.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter surely was going to die if she didn't get to the stop of these stairs soon. Her chest was heaving and her eyes were beginning to fuzz. She wished she had her wand, so that she could apply a relief charm. But Voldemort had confiscated it.  
  
Suddenly, she saw something. Yes, she was sure she saw a glimmer of light in the distance! Could it be daylight? Was it day out? She didn't care, she had to get away from here. She realized that she didn't even know where she was. She could be miles from Hogwarts, and then where would she go? She couldn't run forever.  
  
But she had to. The light was closer now, and moving. She looked over at the light, and now saw something she didn't before. It was a wand, carried by none other than Harry Potter! She didn't think she'd ever been so glad to see a Gryffindor in her life. And Draco and Severus were there, too! But they were on another staircase, one that didn't connect to hers. She wanted to call to them, but she was afraid she would alert the Death Eaters to them. And that light, too! Surely they'd see it!  
  
Jupiter made up her mind. She would have to go back. She would have to do it, for her rescue team.  
  
"Just my (gasp) luck. I have (gasp) to throw myself to (gasp) the Death Eaters to save (gasp) my rescue team. (gasp) Geez." She turned around on the staircase, wheezing, and began sprinting down it. Not too far down, she ran into a surprised black figure, who grabbed her unresisting form and began to backtrack down the stairs with his colleagues. Jupiter thought it might be decent to struggle a little, so it didn't seem too obvious. As a result of this, a rounder Death Eater went flying off the staircase into the blackness, and Jupiter was bound with ropes. Not too long after that, she passed out because of a lack of oxygen.  
  
***  
  
"Crucio."  
  
Jupiter jerked into consciousness as pain ripped through her body, shuddering past nerves and causing spasms. She jerked around helplessly, screaming in pain, as the Dark Lord stood above, laughing.  
  
"Jupiter, I underestimated you. But honestly, you thought you could really escape? Well, let's see how easily you escape these unmagickable ropes. In your cell, with Kira, and twenty-four hour surveillance, with eight guards. Good luck."  
  
And Jupiter's cell door crashed shut. Dammit, if only she'd stayed in her cell! Now her rescue squad would have a hell of a time getting at her. She prayed to Panagaea that they would all be all right.  
  
She struggled against the ropes a little, but it was only in token. She was firmly bound, true. She wouldn't be able to free herself. Kira chuckled a little.  
  
"That was fun! Want to do it again?"  
  
***  
  
Snape reached the bottom of the staircase first. Or rather, he reached the -24th Floor first. He opened the door cautiously, and saw dark figures walking around alertly. He shut the door noiselessly, and turned to the younger boys.  
  
"All right. There are quite a few Death Eaters in there, so the only way we're getting in is incognito. Draco, you and I can put our hoods up and fit in well enough, but Potter..."  
  
Harry looked down at his blue pinstripe pajamas. He doubted even the dumbest Death Eater would believe that he was one of them.  
  
"I could hide in one of your cloaks...?" he suggested, and Draco shook his head.  
  
"Not mine, you wouldn't fit."  
  
Snape rolled his eyes. "You really are more trouble than you're worth sometimes. Get in!" He held his cloak open, and Harry ducked under. "Watch it Potter, try not to touch anything."  
  
"Yeah, you break it, you pay for it!" Draco whispered gleefully.  
  
"Do all Slytherins have the same sense of humor?" Harry hissed harshly.  
  
Snape and Draco put up their hoods and opened the door. They walked in, mostly unnoticed. It wasn't until a cowled figure turned to Draco that trouble began.  
  
"Good evening, Draco, good evening, Severus. What brings you two here?"  
  
***  
  
Jupiter's ears perked up at the sound of Lucius Malfoy's voice. Severus? Draco? Dammit, they'd been caught! Some saving, she thought. They should have sent Ron, Hermione, and Harry. At least THEY wouldn't get caught. Well, it was up to her to save them, now. But how the hell could she? She was tied up in a cell with a buch of Death Eaters and a perky watch-portrait.  
  
***  
  
"Hey there, sweetheart. Care to untie me?" Jupiter had made her way to the bars of her cell and was trying to get herself untied. It was, thus far, unsuccessful. "Come on, untie me."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Hey, listen to me!"  
  
Jupiter rolled her eyes. No Death Eater in their right mind would let her go, for fear of facing the Dark Lord's wrath. But then, what harm could it do? She was loathe to think of what could be happening to her beloved Severus while she herself did nothing. She had to try.  
  
"Really, untie me. You don't even have to let me go, just untie me. Please? These ropes hurt. I'll...umm...sleep with you." she mumbled. She squinted her eyes, why did she say that? She'd sworn to Severus, sworn to her best friend, sworn to herself that she wouldn't sell herself to get what she wanted anymore. But then, this wasn't exactly something frivolous, either. She had to do it, for the greater good.  
  
"You will." came the whispered reply, sounding slightly inquisitive and amused.  
  
Jupiter shuddered, and nodded. She shut her eyes, and the bars creaked open. The other seven guards turned to look, but their colleague gestured to them that all was well. They seemed content just to stare.  
  
"Just don't move. Don't make a sound." Jupiter closed her eyes as she felt herself being lifted up. She was thin naturally, sickly so, it was one of her shortcomings. And since she'd been starved for a few days, she guessed she couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds. Sheets were pulled away from a vital place, and...Jupiter tried to think of other things. She tried to ignore the hot breath on her chest and face. She thought of Severus. What were they doing to him? Gods, he could be in so much trouble, so much pain...Jupiter had to get to him. She had to get untied. She needed to save him. This was a necessary evil, something she had to do, for Severus.  
  
It was over quickly, and Jupiter was dropped to the ground. She landed on her face.  
  
"Untie me," she said, into the stone.  
  
"No."  
  
Jupiter wasn't surprised. She just lay there on the cold cobbles, listening to the Death Eaters laughing cruelly, as the cell door slammed shut. 


	3. Chapter 2

Title: Volva a Scelus  
Author: Katu Backwards  
Author email: katubish@hotmail.com  
Rating: R (ish)  
Summary: When a new boy begins school at Hogwarts, everything goes splodey. Sex, Voldemort, arguments, secrets, heroism, blood, and fluffy kittens named Foofkins.  
  
Disclaimer: Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and so on, do not belong to me. As you might have guessed. Chaos Aberidge is mine, Jupiter is mine, so on and so forth. Use 'em if you want, just link me. By link me I mean give me the link.  
  
The normal rule goes, if you want to know when I update, leave your e-mail in a review and tell me so. I can think of nothing to disprove this.  
  
Constructive criticism welcome and encouraged.  
  
Various mild ideas including but not limited to; humour style, beginning-of-chapter information, ending-of-chapter summary, and some random information (ie - Draco's middle name being Thomas, etc), borrowed from the oh-so-talented, charmingly bohemian, tragically impoverish writer Cassandra Claire.  
  
And now we return you to your regularly scheduled fic.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The next day began rather normally. Jupiter got up reluctantly, cursing at the sun in her eyes. She had woken up early again, not something that generally happened to her. But then, she'd fallen asleep rather early the previous day, so it was to be expected. She dressed lazily, in her normal white, button-up shirt, Slytherin tie, and long skirt. Over them, her school robes. She languished for the moment in her tidy room. Her bed was the centrepiece, with three large cathedral windows above it. On the wall opposite the door was her mirror and vanity, and adjacent to that, her large chest of drawers. Her floor was covered in a plush green carpeting that was soft to the eye and to the foot.  
  
Ah, feet, right. Jupiter rummaged around in her drawers and found her favorite socks, a pair of over-the-knee socks with thick black and white stripes. She'd gotten them from Draco, years ago. Jupiter sighed and put on some shoes. She wandered down to the common room, where there was only one person.  
  
"Lady," came a familiar voice across the room. Jupiter started - it was Chaos. Of all the people she didn't want to see at six in the morning...  
  
"I've got to go," said Jupiter briskly, edging past him on the other side of the room from him. But it was of no use, he followed her. "Look, Chaos..." Jupiter sighed. "In all honesty, you creep the living hell out of me. You follow me, you stare at me, you SMELL ME, and you're just generally making me nervous. Please, leave me alone."  
  
"I wanted to see the Lady," Chaos Grinned, and grabbed Jupiter's wrist. She cried out, and tried to tug her arm away, but to no avail. Then she saw it. In Chaos's other hand was a glint of silver - a knife.  
  
***  
  
Harry chuckled. "You know, I never thought of you as a human."  
  
Draco nodded. "Me neither. Not me, I mean. You. Forget it." Harry laughed again.  
  
"It's so weird, you know? Like, I always assumed-"  
  
"Harry, don't bother telling me. I know." Draco said, and Harry nodded.  
  
"Jupiter, on the other hand, I don't know if I can stand," he added, with a touch of annoyance. Draco smiled.  
  
"She's like that. Kind of hard to get used to. But when you can tell she's joking, which she generally is, she's really funny."  
  
"Funny," Harry repeated, as if he didn't think Jupiter's dry sarcasm was the least bit humourous.  
  
"Well," said Draco, "I didn't ask you to like her."  
  
"I won't, then," said Harry.  
  
***  
  
"Get the hell away from me!" Jupiter cried, and jerked hard, like a fish caught on a hook. But Chaos wouldn't let go. She was going to die, she knew it. She was going to die at the hands of this - she fell backwards into the door, his grip had slipped. She wasted no time in bolting out of the common room and down to the Great Hall. She searched around the Slytherin table for Draco, with no sign of him.   
  
She cursed and made her way slowly, cautiously around the school. After an hour or so of nervous wandering, she ended back at the common room. She inched the door open a bit, and found, to her delight, that the room was full of Slytherins, and not one of them was Chaos.  
  
***  
  
"Mhhmm..."  
  
"Draco! Get your big nose out of that note and talk to me!" Jupiter shouted, and ripped the note from Draco's hands. He glared up at her.  
  
"I was listening, don't worry."  
  
"Well?!"  
  
"I think you're overreacting. Now, can I have my note from Champagne back?" he asked indignantly, trying to take the paper from Jupiter.  
  
"Draco, I'm serious. He's trying to kill me!" she said, and Draco laughed.  
  
"Jupiter, come on. You're freaking out."  
  
"No, Draco...He had a knife! He was going to kill me!"  
  
"Yes, yes, Jupiter. We've established that. I just think you're making too big a deal out of it."  
  
"Making too big a deal out of it?! Draco, my life's in danger! Now stop acting like I'm delusional or I'll read this letter out loud!" she cried, holding up the letter threateningly.  
  
"You wouldn't..." Draco glared at her.  
  
"Want to bet that I wouldn't?" she asked, looking at him angrily.  
  
"Yes..." Draco said, but his voice sounded uncertain.  
  
"Attention everyone!" Jupiter shouted, and the room turned to look, "'Dear Draco,' writes Champange, that stupid tart, 'I find myself more and more drawn to your manly attr...'"  
  
"All right! All right! I take it back! Give that here!" Draco interrupted, grabbing the sheet from Jupiter's fingers. The common room returned to what they were doing, reluctantly. "I'm sorry I made light of your situation, Jupiter. But what do you want me to do about it?"  
  
Jupiter sat quiet for a moment. "I don't know..."  
  
***  
  
Jupiter spent the rest of her week avoiding Chaos at all costs. She would skip the classes she had with him, and eat in her room, often accompanied by Draco, or by Deviancy. She rarely hung out in the common room any more, and feared wandering around the corridors by herself. She was incredibly paranoid, always expecting Chaos to be around every corner, behind every door. What didn't help was the fact that he tended to be in exactly those places about a third of the time.  
  
***  
  
It was Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and Jupiter was skipping, to avoid Chaos. Jupiter was an over-achiever, but that never stopped her from breaking rules. She was devoted to her job, yes, and to her school, but the person she was most of all devoted to was herself, something all too rare these days.  
  
She was irked, that she had to hide like this, she thought, playing with a pigtail absently. She didn't want to live the rest of her time at school hiding from a madman. She would have to talk to someone about it. Perhaps even get him expelled. In any case, she would get her way. She always got her way.  
  
And currently, she was getting her way across a stream outside of Hogsmeade. She was hopping from stone to stone quietly, while she thought of Severus. He'd had to leave again, and they had a substitute, a crotchety old woman who was very nice, but she smelled of eggs and Jupiter despised her. She missed Snape a lot, and she was just thinking of how nice it would be to hug him when she fell into the stream.  
  
She cursed and looked down spitefully at her clothes. She'd taken off her school robes at the end of this small forest and hidden them under a rock. Instead, she was wearing her undershirt and a pair of pants (yes, even purebloods wear pants). Now from the knees down on those pants were soaked. She'd have to change before her next class.  
  
She climbed out of the shallow brook and continued walking, slightly miffed. Still, the sun was warm and the leaves were bright reds, oranges, and yellows. Jupiter was content. She'd never been into this forest before, and had been surprised at the amount of magical creatures in held. A wild puffskein had bounced up to her, squishing madly. She'd patted it, and it squeaked and bounced away. She was searching the forest for any neat creatures, scanning the bushes and trees.  
  
She was so happy, in fact, to be rid of Chaos, that she didn't notice him perched in the tree before her. His knees were up by either side of his head, his hands gripping the branch below him. He looked like a grasshopper, or a frog. Jupiter, however, didn't know this until she turned her head to the side and looked up, having heard a rustling.  
  
The boy was shirtless, but he was wearing long, flowing black robes, and had his hood up so far that she could barely see his face. But the glint of the sun of his teeth, bared in a strange rictus of a grin that he employed so often, Jupiter recognized him instantly.  
  
She shrieked, and took off at a run. Chaos pounced down from the tree and began chasing her with effortless bounds.  
  
As Jupiter ran around a clump of oaks, she felt her lungs give a warning twinge. "Oh please," she thought hopelessly, "Not now, not now... I don't have my wand, I left it in the clearing..." But it was to no avail. She could feel her chest tightening, could feel her airways swell and contract. She turned around and saw Chaos pursuing her like a fox chasing after a wounded bird, lazy, carefree, and deadly.  
  
He was much better equipped for this exertion than Jupiter was, and Jupiter was so focused on getting away from Chaos while maintaining oxygen intake, that she totally failed to wonder what he was doing hiding in a tree in a forest. She also failed to notice the lack of ground below her until she began falling.  
  
Her arms flailed wildly until she grabbed hold of a jutting rock. She scrabbled for purchase, and it wasn't until she felt safe that she would not fall yet that she looked down. It was a mistake. It was a long way down, at least a hundred feet, and Jupiter didn't feel as secure with her foot and handholds. She didn't dare risk screaming, lest the filling of her lungs shove her off the cliff face. Not that she could fill her lungs properly anyway, in her state.  
  
She could only stare around herself furiously, looking for a safe way to climb up. There didn't seem to be one. And that wasn't her most pressing problem. Her chest was so tight with her illness that she didn't think her fingers could cling to the rough stone anymore. She closed her eyes, but willed herself not to pass out.  
  
Her eyes burned at the edges, she was going to die. All because she'd been stupid, and had skipped class. It was all her fault. Why, why did she have to fail at everything she did? It was hard enough to deal with having your best not being good enough, but now she was going to die of it. She cursed her asthma, cursed herself, and cursed Chaos.  
  
But she didn't have much time to curse anything else before her eyelids began to flutter as she let go of consciousness.  
  
The next moment was mostly a blur. She remembered Chaos peering over the edge. He was surely going to watch her fall, make sure she died. But then he didn't. Then everything went black, and she felt her weak fingers let go of the cliff face. She remembered the feeling of flying through the air, the feeling of landing heavily somewhere soft.  
  
She remembered flicking her eyes open and seeing Chaos's concerned face above her. Then she passed out for a good long time.  
  
***  
  
When she awaoke, it was like waking up from a well-needed sleep. She stretched luxuriously as the bright yellow morning sun brushed across her pale face. She rubbed her face hard, as if trying to wake it up. Then she groaned and sat up.  
  
She was in the Hospital Wing. She was also alone. She was about to stand when she heard voices outside the curtain.  
  
"-going to be all right." came Madam Pomfrey's voice. "She just needed her lungs to be re-opened. All though I must say, it's lucky we caught her when we did. She might not have been alive had he brought her in ten minutes late."  
  
"Well, then let us be grateful he did." Jupiter's heart jumped - Severus! He had come to check on her! "And not dwell on what might have been," he added, coldly. "However, I did come with the intention of seeing her." Jupiter smiled.  
  
"Well," said Madam Pomfrey, "If she's awake, possibly. I'll go check."  
  
Jupiter tried to look perky, though she didn't feel particularly energetic. Pomfrey looked surprised, but not in a bad way. "I see you are awake. Are you all right?"  
  
Jupiter nodded. "I'm great! And if you please, miss, I would like to see Se - Professor Snape."  
  
Pomfrey looked stern but nodded after a moment. Then she left. Within moment, Snape rushed into Jupiter's curtained area, looking concerned but happy.  
  
"Jupiter!" he cried, and hugged her. Jupiter was happily shocked at this sudden display of affection, but it appeared Snape had noticed it, too, and had brought himself back down to normal. He patted Jupiter comfortingly on the head, and Jupiter kissed his shoulder.  
  
Despite himself, Severus felt his mouth twitch up at the corners. Jupiter may have been a lot of trouble, and rude, sarcastic, and annoying while she was at it, but she could be awfully endearing sometimes.  
  
"Jupiter," he said quietly, "What happened?"  
  
Jupiter told him everything, and when she finally finished, Snape looked genuinely shocked.  
  
"The first thing that comes to mind to say is, 'I didn't know you had asthma'," Snape said, rather lamely. Jupiter laughed.  
  
"Well I do."  
  
"And the second things is, I'm at a loss towards whether or not we should speak to Dumbledore about Chaos. He did, after all, bring you in to us. It appears, actually, that he saved your life."  
  
Jupiter looked accepting of it. She wasn't sure she liked the boy, but she wouldn't be quite so scared of him anymore. She got off the bed and stood, shakily.  
  
"I have to get my wand," she stated simply, and Severus looked at her, concerned. Jupiter hugged him tightly, and Severus could do naught but hug her back. When she finally let go of him, she poked him and said, "I love you, Severus. Thank you for visiting me."  
  
And with that, she left. Severus sat down heavily and sighed. She was an odd girl.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter went to the clearing she'd left her wand in. It was probably about lunchtime, and Jupiter hoped she wouldn't be missing it. She was starving. Aha, her wand. She picked it up and pocketed it. She began heading back towards the school when a shadow crept out of the foliage before her.  
  
Jupiter didn't scream, she recognized the gangly sort of way the creature moved.  
  
"Chaos," she said, "What are you doing out here?"  
  
Chaos smiled and said nothing.  
  
"Chaos, why are you here? Were you following me?"  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
Jupiter was surprised. It was almost a sane sentence.  
  
"Look, let's go back to school. I know you saved me, I know you're not trying to kill me, let's just go inside, and you can stop acting like a maniac."  
  
Chaos's smile faded instantly and instead, he looked inquisitive in the same way a parrot might look inquisitive. Jupiter shook her head, grabbed the boy's wrist, and dragged him back to school.  
  
***  
  
Title: Volva a Scelus  
Author: Katu Backwards  
Author email: katubish@hotmail.com  
Rating: R (ish)  
Summary: When a new boy begins school at Hogwarts, everything goes splodey. Sex, Voldemort, arguments, secrets, heroism, blood, and fluffy kittens named Foofkins.  
  
Disclaimer: Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and so on, do not belong to me. As you might have guessed. Chaos Aberidge is mine, Jupiter is mine, so on and so forth. Use 'em if you want, just link me. By link me I mean give me the link.  
  
The normal rule goes, if you want to know when I update, leave your e-mail in a review and tell me so. I can think of nothing to disprove this.  
  
Constructive criticism welcome and encouraged.  
  
Various mild ideas including but not limited to; humour style, beginning-of-chapter information, ending-of-chapter summary, and some random information (ie - Draco's middle name being Thomas, etc), borrowed from the oh-so-talented, charmingly bohemian, tragically impoverish writer Cassandra Claire.  
  
And now we return you to your regularly scheduled fic.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
  
Draco spied Jupiter and Chaos re-entering the building together and his eyes widened.  
  
"Off shagging in the forest, were you?" he said. Jupiter gave him a glare and then looked at Chaos to see if Draco had embarrassed him (something Draco was tops at). Instead of the normal blush, Chaos just grinned, as if he hadn't heard it. Jupiter shrugged and looked at Draco.  
  
"So, I thought you were scared to death of him," Draco said, a little bitterly.  
  
"Well, I was. And then he sort of saved my life."  
  
"He what? How did he do that?" Draco cried.  
  
"Well, I was running through a forest and I fell off a cliff and he saved me. Honestly, Draco, does it matter that much?"  
  
"So are you making marriage plans or what?" he scowled, definitely looking sour.  
  
"Jesus, Draco, what crawled up your arse and died? Potter been teasing you again?"  
  
"Shut up, Jupiter. No one asked you."  
  
"Ah, so it IS boyfriend troubles. What'd he do now?" Jupiter asked, and Draco blushed fiercely.  
  
"Oh shut up. It's not Potter, it's Champagne," he whispered harshly, glaring into Jupiter's face.  
  
"Why," asked Jupiter, pouting, "Did she not owl you today?"  
  
Draco looked angry, and Jupiter looked back at him in amusement, but didn't tease him.  
  
"Don't worry, your next issue of Sex Weekly is probably in the mail. Coincedentally, is it lunchtime yet?"  
  
"No, it's not. Anyway, I have to go."  
  
Jupiter nodded, and Draco made his way down the hallway. Jupiter turned to tell Chaos that she had to go, but he was gone. She shrugged and walked towards her next class.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter flopped down in the seat next to Harry Potter in Arithmancy, after apologizing to the teacher for being late. She leaned over to Potter and began talking in hushed tones, totally drowned out by the chatter of students as they worked on their homework.  
  
"Hey, Potter. Where's Ron?" she asked him, smiling.  
  
"I love the way you call me Potter, but him Ron. Not that it's any of your business, but Ron's in the hospital wing. Now bugger off, you pesky Slytherin," he said coldly, looking down to his book. But Jupiter would not relent.  
  
"Why's he there?" she asked.  
  
"Because he and I got into a fight and I broke his nose! Now go away!"  
  
"Why'd you hit him?"  
  
"GODS! Jupiter, GO AWAY!" he shouted, and the class turned to look at him. He blushed, and sat silent while the chatter started up again.  
  
"All right, all right. No more questions about Ron," Jupiter said, pretending to wave a white flag, "But tell me, what's up with you and Draco?"  
  
"What about us?"  
  
"You're friends, right?"  
  
Harry nodded. "I guess."  
  
Jupiter smiled at him. "Well, I tell you what. If you turn him into a pansy Gryffindork, you'll have taken away one of my best friends, and I will personally strangle you."  
  
Harry glared at her, and they remained silent for the rest of the class.  
  
***  
  
She made her way to the attic for Advanced Divination, and ran into Chaos halfway up. She smiled at him warily and he came up to her. She noted with pleasure the incredulous looks they got as they walked up the stairs together.  
  
"Lady is good?"  
  
"I'm fine, thank you, Chaos. How are you?"  
  
"I'm very well. I'm excited about Divination."  
  
"Why's this?" Jupiter found herself being amazed that Chaos could feel anything, much less express it. She felt bad for thinking of him as stupid, when he was probably just a little unstable.  
  
"Because Ms. Trelawney says I have the most interesting aura she's ever seen."  
  
Jupiter wasn't sure she wanted to tell him of Trelawney's often misguided dramatics. She decided not to. They arrived in class, and Harry was sitting on the opposite side of the room, with Draco. Odd, Draco wasn't in this class. Jupiter looked around as children came in and sat down. Then her eyes traveled back to Draco and Harry. They were talking animatedly about something, and then Harry gave the Slytherin a playful shove.  
  
Jupiter blinked, and did a mental double take. She was sure she'd just seen Draco and Harry messing around in public. She was positive. She looked at Harry, who was laughing. So was Draco, actually. Good gods, they were almost flirting! She knew she should be happy for him, but she couldn't help but think that she had nothing to hold over Draco's head now. Nothing but his limited (im)moral code was keeping her and Severus's secret from the world. In short, she was worried.  
  
Chaos seemed to notice her distress, and laid one of his huge, long-fingered hands on hers. Her hands were still riddled with long, sweeping scars from the Hall of Shadow, she noted. She'd learned to ignore them recently, but she remembered them when Chaos touched her. She shuddered to feel the boy's hand on hers, and pulled it away. She looked up into his face, which was, for once, not twisted into his strange rictus of a smile. It was a little concerned, but it mostly looked devoid of any emotion. He was rather attractive like this, with his thin, strong jaw line and his longish nose. His good eye was a startling shade of green, and it glittered with a sparkle that contrived to look maniacal in a pleasant way.  
  
Just then, class started. Trelawney floated out into the classroom, dabbing at her eyes with a pink handkerchief.  
  
"Good afternoon, class," she breathed, with a tragic smile. She glanced with something akin to hope at Harry, "I wish that your wounds heal soon, poor dear." Harry rolled his eyes, but allowed the comment. Trelawney had better people to pick on, now. Harry's heart went out to the poor new sap. This 'new sap' happened to be Chaos.  
  
"Oh dear!" Trelawney cried, rather overdramatically, "Jason, I've just had a vision!"  
  
Jupiter rolled her eyes. This was a new one. Chaos looked intrigued.  
  
"It was of you, standing in a clearing, with many others, dressed all in black! No faces can be seen, it appears to be some sort of funeral, with everyone standing in a circle around a grave of some sort!"  
  
Jupiter snapped to attention when she heard the part about the circle, and then became so deeply involved in thought that she didn't listen to another word. She knew what that sounded like. She'd been familiar with it since she was very young. It was the only circle in the world you never wanted to be on the inside of. Still, Trelawney was probably making it up.  
  
After a long period of tea leaves and picking on Chaos, Trelawney dismissed the class. Jupiter looked over at Chaos, who'd been forecasted to die, kill, and download ICQ within the next couple of days. He looked pleased as punch. Jupiter shook her head, laughing. Chaos probably didn't even know what Trelawney was talking about. She gathered her bag, and waited for Chaos at the door. They walked to the common room together.  
  
***  
  
"Hullo, Draco, darling. How are you?" Jupiter called in a sing-song voice, dropping her bag on the Slytherin coffee table and plopping down next to her blonde-haired friend.  
  
"I'm great!" Draco exclaimed, looking sincerely enthusiastic for once.  
  
"I guessed. Was that hug to Harry a we're-such-good-friends hug, or a let's-shag-in-the-bathrooms-after-class hug?" she joked, poking Draco in the ribs. She didn't want to admit it, but she was a little jealous. She didn't have anyone to hug her.  
  
Draco blushed, "So how are you?"  
  
"Nice avoidance. I'm all right. I just wanted to stop by to threaten your life."  
  
"Why? What'd I do now?"  
  
"Well, since your secret's out, I have no means of keeping my secret from popping out your mouth every five seconds. So I just wanted to let you know that if you tell anyone, I'll kill you," she said airily, with a grin.  
  
Draco smiled and nodded. Then he stood up and began to leave.  
  
"Where the hell are you going, my dear Malfoy?"  
  
Draco gave Jupiter a sardonic look over his shoulder. "I'm off to shag Potter in the bathroom, of course."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Coming up next: What's going on with Harry? Can Draco keep Jupiter's secret? Is Draco really going to shag Potter? In the bathroom, of all places? Tune in next time for Volva a Scelus, which continues to sound obscene. It really isn't, though. Even though it sounds like some sort of weird body part, like that bit between your vagina and your...nevermind.  
  
Coming up next on the Katu Channel, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood! 


	4. Chapter 1

Title: Volva a Scelus  
Author: Katu Backwards  
Author email: katubish@hotmail.com  
Rating: R (ish)  
Summary: When a new boy begins school at Hogwarts, everything goes splodey. Sex, Voldemort, arguments, secrets, heroism, blood, and fluffy kittens named Foofkins.  
  
Disclaimer: Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and so on, do not belong to me. As you might have guessed. Chaos Aberidge is mine, Jupiter is mine, so on and so forth. Use 'em if you want, just link me. By link me I mean give me the link.  
  
The normal rule goes, if you want to know when I update, leave your e-mail in a review and tell me so. I can think of nothing to disprove this.  
  
Constructive criticism welcome and encouraged.  
  
Various mild ideas including but not limited to; humour style, beginning-of-chapter information, ending-of-chapter summary, and some random information (ie - Draco's middle name being Thomas, etc), borrowed from the oh-so-talented, charmingly bohemian, tragically impoverish writer Cassandra Claire.  
  
And now we return you to your regularly scheduled fic.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Headnotes:  
* Commonly known as a Grin. © Lacci De Vrij/Emma Matson  
  
---------------------  
  
It was a a dark morning in August, and Jupiter had just awoken. She'd had the dream again, the nightmare that had haunted her since she was tiny. Only now it had her vision from the Hall of Shadow in it. She sat up in bed, holding her sheets to her heaving chest, and slowly waited for the fear to subside and her heartbeat to slow. Her breathing returned to normal, and she tried to ignore the burning depression that set in. She thought of him again, and how she missed him.  
  
Severus had been gone for two months now, spying again for Dumbledore. Jupiter was naturally concerned about him, and very upset that she didn't get to see him anymore. Occasionally she would see him, walking through the hallways, looking like a man who had hang-glided over hell. She would shout to him, and sometimes he would hear, sometimes he wouldn't. If he did hear, he'd send her a glance over his shoulder. It would be sorrowful and lonely, but it was something. She found herself scanning the hallways for him each and every day, hoping she would see him. She rarely did.  
  
As she got dressed, she switched to more happy thoughts, such as the fact that classes start today, and how she still had filing to do. She looked over at the clock on her nightstand, its red numbers proclaimed that it was only 5am. It was probably best, she had a lot of work to do.  
  
It was raining outside, and through the darkness, cold rain was spattering against her windows. She sighed longingly and walked to one of them, forgetting her obligations as she unlatched the window with a lazy finger and opened it. The cold, wet air rushed into her room, and Jupiter breathed it deeply. She loved the rain, and as the tiny droplets of water drenched her face and torso, she settled into a sort of warm, cozy depression.  
  
Her black hair stuck to her cheeks doggedly as she stared out into the gloom, humming to herself.  
  
"You'll catch your death of cold that way, my dear." came an amused voice from Jupiter's doorway. She smiled into the storm, not opening her eyes.  
  
"Good morning, Draco," she said, "What brings you up here?"  
  
Draco shrugged, though Jupiter couldn't see. "Felt like it. Didn't sleep last night."  
  
Jupiter laughed a little. "I'd scold you if I cared."  
  
"Yeah, just felt like coming up and saying hi. I was rather hoping I could wake you up in an annoying manner, though."  
  
"Mhmm..." he could tell Jupiter was too focused on the falling rain.  
  
"Hey, shut that window and pay attention to me," Draco said, coming up and putting a hand on Jupiter's shoulder. Draco hadn't come up to visit his friend just to be ignored.  
  
She shut the window and turned around. "Yes, Draco?"  
  
Jupiter was soaked, at least from her shoulders up. Her long black hair was matted to her face, and her white cotton nightdress clung to her in a way that Draco might have found sexy, had he not been totally impervious to Jupiter's charms. Not that she used them on him anyway.  
  
"Just wanted to talk to you about something..." He said. He obviously, Juptier thought, had something on his mind. He was usually much more snotty than this.  
  
"What's that?" She asked. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a baggy white button-up dress shirt (probably expensive), and a long black skirt. She undressed, much to Draco's annoyance, and then donned her drier clothes.  
  
"Geez, Jupiter, it's hard to be serious with you when you're naked," He said, petulantly.  
  
"Don't see why not," Jupiter said, and sat crosslegged at the head of her bed. "And besides, I'm not naked now. Have a seat."  
  
Draco sighed and sat on Jupiter's green comforter. It had silver lining. "Jupiter, I'm having problems. Seriously. My father, he's been on the rampage recently."  
  
Jupiter nodded, and began wringing out her wet hair over the side of the bed. "How so?"  
  
"Just...Trying to get me to join the Dark Side and whatnot."  
  
Jupiter looked surprised, and sat up. "I thought you wanted that," she said, with little emotion in her voice.  
  
"I used to think I did, I was all for it in my second year, but...I don't know...I've grown since then. I think I've grown past it." Jupiter's face didn't move. Draco couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he wasn't worried about it. He continued speaking, blindly. "I really don't know how to deal with it. Lately, well, you see...I've made friends with a few people I know my father won't approve of, and-"  
  
"Sod your father, Draco." Jupiter said simply. Draco goggled, he had expected her to have some words of comfort, or at least some good advice. Of course, that could have been her good advice...Either case, Draco didn't feel like pursuing it.  
  
"There's another thing..." he said quietly. Jupiter cocked her head to one side inquisitively. "You remember Champagne?"  
  
"Champagne..." Jupiter echoed, "The Wronski girl?"  
  
"The same."  
  
"Yes, I remember her. Long blonde hair, blue eyes, entirely too skinny."  
  
Draco smiled a little. "Yeah."  
  
"What about her?"  
  
"Well, she's been owling me." Draco began rubbing his satin pajamas nervously.  
  
"She couldn't be! Not owling you! The nerve!"  
  
"Well, you haven't read what she's been writing to me..." Draco said quietly. Jupiter's mock look of horror suddenly morphed into a wide, perverted grin.  
  
"Tell me, Draco. Tell me what she wrote you."  
  
Draco shook his head. "I couldn't have said that to you, even when we were dating."  
  
Jupiter's eyebrows shot up and she paused in the braiding of her long hair for a moment, her mouth curled into a highly amused smile. "Well then, thinking of asking her out?"  
  
Draco shook his head. "See, that's the thing. I don't know if I want to, yet. I'm not really sure how to react to these letters."  
  
Jupiter looked sincere. "I would honestly suggest," and the side of her mouth twitched, "That you write back."  
  
Draco laughed. "Why did I think you would help me?"  
  
"Because you're such a trusting soul, Draco," Jupiter said, and the both of them laughed.  
  
"So, why are you up so early?" Draco asked, and Jupiter's smile faded only slightly.  
  
"Had a nightmare. The usual, Voldemort and Severus. And I have work to do. I have a lot of student profiles I was supposed to submit a week ago. Dumbledore's pretty lenient, but I need them in his office in four hours."  
  
Draco still couldn't understand how Jupiter got to be so forward in all her classes, got to be a Prefect, and Head of Student Relations, with her lazy attitude and sarcastic tongue. He sighed. "Want some help?"  
  
"Oughtn't you go to bed, young man?" Jupiter smiled mockingly.  
  
"Why bother?"  
  
"Sure, have a seat." Jupiter finished braiding her hair and tied it off with a pastel blue ribbon. She lifted her wand off her nightstand and aimed it at a trunk at the opposite side of the room. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The trunk lifted effortlessly, and flew up to Jupiter's bed, landing lightly beside it. She prodded a place on the side of it, and it popped open. Inside were piles and piles of papers, neatly organised and rather intimidating.   
  
"You're a bloody nutter, Jupiter."  
  
"Yep. I love this job."  
  
They began filing throug applicants, marking down allergies and schedules on separate sheets of papers, and laughing at irregularities in the students, not an uncommon occurence at Hogwarts.  
  
Jupiter chuckled, "Look at this one! It's a pirate!" There was a picture of a boy with grey-white hair, and an eye patch. "Height, 6'6"? Holy Bludger! It's a monster pirate! And his name is Chaos? Oh, no, his name is Jason. Likes to be called Chaos. Captain Chaos!"  
  
"Let me see," Draco said, and took the paper from her. "He's 18, and a pure blood. Only he's an orphan, now, if that term applies to 18 year olds. Lives with aunt in London...boring boring boring...la la la..." Draco continued to mumble as he looked it over. "Sounds like a real head case."  
  
"Well, they do mention that his previous school was a mental institution."  
  
They marked his information down and continued filing through papers until eight. Jupiter pressed a small button by her window, and soon, Fawkes came swooping down. They'd worked that out last year, as Fawkes was more able to carry all the packets of information up than a normal owl. When the phoenix flew out the window, Jupiter turned to Draco.  
  
"Escort me to breakfast?" she asked, smiling. Draco nodded, and Jupiter grabbed her school robes, donned them, and the two walked down to The Great Hall, arm in arm.  
  
***  
  
When she and Draco arrived at the Slytherin table, which was on the far end of the Great Hall, Jupiter pointed at a familiar silver-blond head. "Look, it's him, it's Chaos."  
  
"Well then," said Draco, "You'd better go talk to him. I have to attend to Pansy."  
  
Draco wandered over to Pansy, who began to fawn all over him the moment he sat down. Jupiter laughed internally, some girls were so weird. She sat down by the new boy and looked at him.  
  
"Good morning, Chaos," she said, and smiled at him. She delighted in knowing everyone's name before having met them. But the boy's pale face was devoid of any of the usual shock. Instead, spread across it was the most crooked, disturbing smile* Jupiter had ever seen. It was her turn to be nonplussed. She let her disconcertion show for only a second before replacing it with an automatic, and totally plastic, smile.  
  
"Good morning, Lady," he said, and his voice was...indescribable. But the effort will be made. It was not deep, nor was it high. It was a little raspy, yet had a tendency to slide over words. Imagine taking a smooth piece of glass, covering it in honey, and rubbing it against a piece of coarse sandpaper, and that is almost how his voice sounded. Jupiter hadn't, in her entire life, heard a voice like it.  
  
Jupiter didn't know what else to say, this boy wasn't reacting the way normal students would. It was awfully disconcerting. His profile information came rushing back to her. What was he institutionalized for? Criminal insanity? Borderline personality disorder? Kleptomania? Whatever the charges, Jupiter suddenly decided she no longer wanted to be next to the boy.  
  
She looked away and skewered a bit of toast with her fork. She became aware of a distinct sniffing noise. She turned back to Chaos, he was smelling her! She gave him an askance look and turned back to her toast, putting some fried tomato and melted cheese on the top. She was doing her best to ignore the boy.  
  
"You smell of mint, Lady," he said quietly, and Jupiter looked back at him. She nodded. He Grinned again at her and then turned away, back to his food. Jupiter shook her head, this boy was nuts. She stood and wandered away from the table, suddenly ceasing to be hungry. It was too important to put distance between her and the boy.  
  
***  
  
Later, Jupiter discovered that she had a few classes with the new boy, one of which was Potions, which was second period. She walked into the room, and looked at the walls. Her stomach gave a sick lurch of longing as her eyes scanned the walls of jars and the empty desk. She wondered who would be teaching. She moved to her usual seat, next to Deviancy Muggle. Deviancy was a tall, scrawny, and intelligent Slytherin girl with an unfortunate last name.  
  
Moments later, Chaos walked in and saw Jupiter. He gave her the disgruntling smile again and sat in the seat directly behind her. Deviancy leaned over and said, "What a strange looking boy, is he new?"  
  
Jupiter nodded. "He gives me the creeps. He SMELLED me earlier!"  
  
"It's hard not to. You wear a lot of perfume."  
  
"It's not perfume," Jupiter began defensively, "it's an oil, a lotion. And I don't wear lots of it. It's just very strong. I'm not even wearing any today!"  
  
"Suit yourself. It smells like you're wearing it."  
  
"Any case, I meant he leaned over and sniffed me. It was weird."  
  
"Well," Deviancy said, "We Slytherins aren't always know for our sanity. After all-"  
  
Jupiter had stopped paying attention. She wondered who'd be filling in for Severus today, since he was off spying. She bent down to look through her bag for her schedule, so she could check and see if it said. The classroom door opened and shut, and Jupiter was just pulling her schedule out of a side pocket when she heard a strict clearing of the throat. She snapped up in her seat and looked straight ahead, hardly daring to believe what her eyes told her. It was Snape! She resisted the urge to squeal in delight and instead, sat raptly at attention. He looked gaunt and tired, more so than usual, but no one else seemed to notice, much less care.  
  
"Welcome to Potions class," he said, though he didn't sound at all welcoming, "I would like to say that it will be a competant year, but I doubt it. All I can honestly hope for is that some of you will leave this class marginally more intelligent than you were previously," he said in a low monotone, his eyes flicking distastefully over the Gryffindor side of the classroom. Jupiter noticed that Draco (who had been upped to the next level of Potions, and subsequently put in Jupiter's class), wasn't there.  
  
Jupiter turned her thoughts back to Severus, who was checking that everyone had their textbooks. A Gryffindor, typically, didn't have his, and lost Gryffindor five points. The Gryffindors groaned and lost another two for complaining about a fair punishment. Most of the Slytherins sniggered smugly, which Snape ignored. Things seemed to be normal.  
  
Snape gave them a written assignment about potion ingredients, and things pretty much progressed as usual, except that Jupiter had a lot more questions than were really warranted. She knew all the answers, but why should she pass up a great opportunity? It was a perfect excuse to have Severus hovering over her, and pointing out various principles and rules of potion-making, all of which she'd known since her first year. She could smell him, she could feel his body heat against her back as he leaned over her.  
  
Severus seemed to note her sudden stupidity, too, because when she raised her hand for the umpteenth time he said, with a touch of cruel amusement, "Since, Miss Vrij, you seem to have left your brains in your common room, why don't you see me after class."  
  
It was not a question, and it was not phrased nicely. The Gryffindors gasped at Snape making a mean comment to one of his precious Slytherins, but Jupiter was ecstatic.  
  
Jupiter failed to pay attention all through the rest of the class, which Snape turned a blind eye to. When class was finally over, Jupiter waved good-bye to a few of her friends, who winked devilishly at her, and she laughed. Then the classroom was empty, except for the two. Snape shut the door and walked over to where Jupiter was standing. He didn't speak, or do anything except stare at Jupiter. Jupiter looked at the floor and broke the silence.  
  
"I-I've missed you a lot, Severus," Jupiter said. Snape said nothing, so Jupiter spoke to fill the space, "It's been hard without you not owling all summer. I've kept asking Dumbledore about you, and even he's not always sure if you're all right. It's been hell without you! How have things been with you? Is everything well? Voldemort hasn't tried to hurt you, has he?" There was a long silence, and Severus's head was hanging tiredly. "...Severus? Severus, are you all right?"  
  
Snape lifted his head with some difficulty. "For Christ's sake, no, Jupiter! I've spent the last two months running around, doing errands for the Dark Lord! Just being in his presence takes everything out of me. He suspects me of being unfaithful, and being around even the dumber Death Eaters reduces me to a nervous, paranoid wreck. I don't know how long I can keep doing this. Now shut up and just let me have a moment of peace with you. Please," he added harshly, his black eyes losing a bit of their anger.  
  
Jupiter nodded apologetically and Severus wrapped her up in his arms. She hugged him back, and they stood that way for what seemed an hour, before Severus pulled away, breathing heavily. Jupiter suspected it wasn't being in such close proximity to him that was causing his breath to come quickly.  
  
"Severus, are you all right?" Jupiter asked, approaching him and placing a thin hand on his black-clad chest. He said nothing, but Jupiter could feel his heart pounding. "Severus-"  
  
Jupiter had no time to finish her sentence before Snape stepped forward angrily, snapped Jupiter up in his arms, and kissed her viciously on the lips. It was full of tension and passion and frustration and heartache, and it ended all too soon. He pulled away and Jupiter gave a disappointed noise, and fell into Severus's chest. She tilted her face up to his and whispered, "Do it again."  
  
Snape sighed heavily, released Jupiter and stalked away across the room.  
  
"Go to your class," he growled, and fell into his chair, digging his fingers into his hair. Jupiter felt as if she would cry, he was not usually this harsh with her. Of course, she reminded herself, it's been more of a hell for him these past two months that it's been for me. I should be more understanding.  
  
She stood for a pensive moment, and watched as Snape rifled mercilessly through papers on his desk. She knew he wasn't reading them, but he knew that Jupiter would leave if he looked busy. She decided to oblige him, and headed to her next class.  
  
***  
  
The rest of her day flew by uneventfully, with Jupiter paying most of her attention to the class (if only to avoid the pain that struck through her when she thought of Severus), except for the classes she had with the new boy. He didn't talk to anyone, indeed, everyone seemed afraid of him. Jupiter didn't blame them. He seemed to have taken a liking to her specifically, because he always sat by her. In fact, he managed to sit next to her in her last period, which was Advanced Divination. Since they had assigned seats (or, rather, assigned poufs), Jupiter couldn't get out of it, and spent most of her time figeting uncomfortably.  
  
This happened for the next few days, and by the end of the third day, Jupiter was getting really annoyed.  
  
She went outside after last period, breathing heavily. Why was he following her? Why couldn't he stop staring at her? It was so hard to concentrate on anything with that great green eye ogling her every move. She walked past the lake, kicking pebbles angrily in front of her.  
  
Why hadn't she just ignored him? Why did she have to be cocky and approach him in the first place? "Damn me," she thought viciously, "Damn me and my stupid ideas."  
  
Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, with a good idea of who it was. She was right. Chaos stood behind her, with his evil-looking, crooked smile stretched across his face.  
  
"Lady," he began, "You smell of mint."  
  
"I'm sure we've been through this before!" Jupiter cried, her short temper flaring. She wasn't one to be annoyed by someone all day and just keep it inside. "And for pity's sake, my name is Jupiter!"  
  
"Thank you, Lady," he whispered, and strode off in an odd sort of fashion. Jupiter was terrified and she didn't know why. Something about that boy made her very nervous. She turned and ran inside, and didn't stop running until she was in the Slytherin common room, curled up next to Draco.  
  
"Draco, you remember that Chaos guy?"  
  
"The nutter?"  
  
"Yeah, him. He's frightening," she was saying, curled up underneath his arm, "He follows me around, and keeps telling me I smell of mint."  
  
"Well, you do, you know. Rather strongly, I-"  
  
"Draco! This is not about the way I smell! Would everyone leave the way I smell alone? This is about a weird boy who keeps sitting next to me and calling me 'Lady'!"  
  
"God forbid!" Draco said, with mock offense, "Not that!"  
  
"Shut up, Draco. I mean it."  
  
"Well, what do you want me to do about it? Beat him up for you?"  
  
"You'd do that for me?" she asked.  
  
"No, not really," he answered truthfully. He may not be nice, Jupiter thought, but at least he's honest.  
  
"Besides," Jupiter added, after a while, "You couldn't beat him up. He's twice your size."  
  
Draco was about to say something indignant, when the door swung open and Chaos walked in. He had leaves in his hair and grass stains on his robes. He offered everyone in the common room a crooked Grin and headed into the dorms.  
  
Jupiter looked at Draco, who smiled evilly.  
  
"He has such a charming smile, don't you think?"  
  
Jupiter hit him with a cushion.  
  
***  
  
"Hello, Jupiter!" called a boy from a little ways away. She looked over to where the call had come from. There were two boys there. One was tall, lanky, and red-haired. He was standing next to a shorter, black-haired boy. She made her way over to them.  
  
"How are you?" the short one asked her.  
  
"I'm fine..." she said slowly, "Who are you?"  
  
"My name is Ron Weasley, and this is my friend, Harry Potter," the tall one said, and Jupiter laughed.  
  
"I know who Harry Potter is, thanks. I was referring to you. I've seen you around and heard of you, though it's normally said 'Harry Potter and his red-headed friend,' not vice versa." Ron glared, but Jupiter kept talking. "So what do you want, my brave little Gryffindors?"  
  
"We just wanted to say hi!" Harry said, and smiled at her. Jupiter's jovial air cooled a little and she looked at Harry, trying to see any sign of mischief, any hint of smugness.  
  
"Well. Hi then. But if you'll excuse me, I have some Hufflepuffs to hang. I'll see you around," Jupiter said, a cold edge in her voice. She turned away.  
  
"Wait! I mean, don't go!" Harry cried out. Jupiter turned again and looked at him.  
  
"You know, Potter, you'd make a lousy Slytherin. Now tell me what it is you want so I can continue being mean to the first-years. So many wedgies to give."  
  
"Where's Draco?" Harry turned a little red and added meekly, "I mean Malfoy." Jupiter looked at him oddly.  
  
"As a matter of fact, I don't know. But if you'd like to leave your name, number, and a short message, he'll get back to you," Jupiter said, and smiled. Ron looked about ready to slug her, but Harry forced a laugh.  
  
"Well, do YOU want to hang out?" Harry asked. Ron looked at him incredulously, but Harry ignored it. Jupiter's face echoed Ron's.  
  
"What? 'Hang out'? Potter, are you nuts? Bludger hit you in the head a couple too many times? I'm a Slytherin, remember? I worship the Dark Lord and eat babies?"  
  
It took all of Harry's willpower to maintain his smile. They can't all be like this, Draco's a decent enough guy... "Well, if you see him, will you tell him we want to talk to him?"  
  
"What is it, 'Take a Slytherin Under Your Noble Wing' day? Since when do Gryffindors go looking for Slytherins? Are you going to 'hang out' with him, too?" Jupiter asked, quirking an eyebrow and frowning slightly.  
  
"Geez, I just wanted to know! I'd forgotten how annoying you Slytherins are!" Harry snapped, and walked off. Ron followed him, shouting I-told-you-so's the whole way.  
  
"You dumb Gryffindorks can't even take jokes." Jupiter snapped, and Harry stopped in his tracks.  
  
Slowly, to Jupiter's amazement, he walked back. He seemed resigned, and sighed. "Will you tell Draco we want him?"  
  
"Well," began Jupiter, the side of her mouth twitching up, "I really don't think he's into threesomes, but sure, I'll tell him."  
  
"Harry! Harry!" three boys were rushing up to the group of people, smiling and waving something in the air. "Look at this!" It was a newspaper clipping.  
  
"What is it?" asked Harry. Jupiter couldn't help but be intrigued.  
  
"So," she thought to herself, "This is what Gryffindors do."  
  
"I'll read it to you," said one boy, who Jupiter vaguely recognized as Colin Creevey. "It says:  
  
Recently in Mortein City, home to the Elemental Castles, there was a reported break-in at The Museum of Knicked Knick-Knacks, the popular museum of previously stolen artifacts. Sources say, though, that nothing was stolen. In other news, the Castle of Shadow, long-time tourist attraction and filming place of 'The Muggle', has been shut down for undisclosed reasons.  
  
-Do you suppose that might mean something?" Colin finished, hope gleaming in his eyes. Jupiter laughed hard.  
  
"Don't you suppose it's a bit early in the year to be seeing Dark Lords everywhere?"  
  
Colin blushed a bright red, and Harry glared at Jupiter. Jupiter smiled sweetly, and then turned her attention to the other boy. He was chubby-cheeked and had ear-length sandy brown hair.  
  
"I almost remember you...What's your name again? Nero Longstocking?" she asked, looking under a floppy bang, as if that would help.  
  
"Neville Longbottom," he corrected reproachfully. Jupiter smiled.  
  
"I know. I'm only teasing. It's what we Slytherins do."  
  
"I was under the impression that one thing Slytherins did NOT do, is hang out with Gryffindors." Jupiter looked at the source of the voice. It was Hermione Granger, know-it-all extraordinaire.  
  
"Ah, yes," Jupiter smiled, straightening up, "More Gryffindors. I'll be the envy of all my friends."  
  
Hermione gave Jupiter a scrutinizing look, and Jupiter merely looked coldly amused. "Does it give you any pleasure to stare at me like that?"  
  
Hermione ignored her, and then turned to Harry and began talking animatedly about something Jupiter couldn't care less about. So she began surveying the rest of the group.  
  
She noticed one boy - wasn't his name Sean O'Malley? Something Irish. Finnigan, that's right. Seamus Finnigan. He had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. Jupiter grinned at him and burst into song:  
  
"There was a sex fiend named Seamus Finnigan, he pulled out but then thrust in again, then his girlfriend hit his chin-iggan, poor old Seamus Finnigan, begin again! There was a big dork called Seamus Finnigan, he wants to be Slytherin-iggan, but he just would not fit in-iggan, dumb old Seamus Finnigan, begin again!"  
  
Seamus glared at her, but it soon morphed into a big, triumphant smile. Then he pulled out Jupiter's wand from behind his back and grinned, showing all his teeth. In a second, he was sprinting off across the courtyard. Jupiter took off after him.  
  
"If this is your idea of flirting, Finnigan, I'll tell you now that I only like older men!" she cried, but Seamus appeared not to hear her. "You lousy Gryffindor, give me...back...my wand..."  
  
Jupiter slowed to a stop and fell to the ground. She was clutching her chest and throat with her thin hands, and was desperately trying to breathe. Within moments, all the Gryffindors had crowded around her, blocking out the red twilight that was shining in her eyes.  
  
"Are you all right?" Harry asked, leaning over her.  
  
"I have (gasp) asthma, and it's (wheeze) horrid," Jupiter lapsed into a coughing fit, "And if I ever get my (deep breath) hands on him, (yawn) Finnigan's dead," she said, between wheezing breaths.  
  
Hermione looked snooty. "Well, you DID start it."  
  
Harry snatched Jupiter's wand from Seamus's hand and handed it to Jupiter, who ignored its presence on her lap. If she'd looked up, she would have seen Seamus looking acutely embarrassed, and she probably would have been surprised. That, however, was lost on her.  
  
"What's going on?" came a boy's voice from outside the circle.  
  
"Hello," Jupiter wheezed again, "Draco."  
  
"Jupiter, what the hell are you doing surrounded by Gryffindors?"  
  
"They're my Gryffindor Sixth Years collection. I've nearly got the whole set!" she said. "Not Colin, of course."  
  
Draco pointed his wand at her chest and said "Respiro."  
  
Soon, Jupiter's breathing returned to normal. She stood up and looked at Finnigan. "You," she said, "Are an idiot!" And she stormed off, singing the Seamus Finnigan song. Seamus looked angry, but the rest of the group shushed him, and they walked off.  
  
And so it was that Jupiter left the courtyard, and went to the Slytherin girls' dorm. She went to the end of the dormitory and opened the door to her room, profoundly glad that prefects get their own quarters. She shut the door and walked over to her bed. With no more ado, she lay down, and fell asleep.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Coming up: Will Chaos kill Jupiter? Will Snape kill her first? What's up with Harry and Ron? Why did Draco walk away with them? Why is there a Harry Potter trading card stuck to my foot? All these questions answered and more, in the following episode of Volva a Scelus, which sounds really obscene. 


	5. Intro and In Which Jupiter Is Stalked

About the Story: This is a work-in-progress. If you've read it a few months ago...you have not read the story as it is now. I am constantly revising, to make it more realistic and easier to read. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and my stories thus far are riddled with holes, inconsistencies, and plot gaps.  
  
Also, this story is based off of a roleplaying game called Hogwarts: On Crack. That, in and of itself, should tip you off that, as much as I try, this fic is not going to be totally canon. I'm sorry to disappoint you.  
  
Also, this IS the sequel to "For the Love of Potions", so it will not totally make sense unless you read the first. I'd like to make it a standalone fic, but as of now...I can't. So you can either brave the fic without reading its predecessor, or read the first one. I don't care which. Eventually, I am also going to add some history of Jupiter's family.  
  
About the Characters: Most of the characters in this story do not belong to me. The canon HP characters, obviously, belong to JK Rowling, and the original characters are credited at the beginning of each chapter.  
  
Now, I would like to say something about our "heroine", Jupiter. Jupiter is the result of years of character development. I try the best I can not to make her a Mary-Sue, though, obviously, a relationship with the Potions Professor seriously compromises that. As such, I'd been thinking of taking an existing, but little-known Slytherin, and using her. Blaise Zabini, to be precise. I decided against this, as I am currently working on another fic involving Blaise, and would not want them to get confused.  
  
Chaos, also, is very...how do you say? Bad. He has no personality, and he never will. I used to think he was cute. Now I basically hate him. He is currently only in the story as a plot device, though I may replace him with someone later on. I would just like to apologise for him in advance.  
  
So please, bear with me.  
  
About Reviewing: Reviews are very much appreciated, but not compulsory. However, if you are going to review, please tell me what you did or did not like, instead of an "I love this" or "u suxx0rz". Also, corrections as far as typographical, capitalization, punctuational, spelling, grammatical, or American errors (I do try to write like I'm British) are most definitely welcome and encouraged.  
  
Thank you for taking the time to read this introduction. And now, on with the show! ...Er, fic.  
  
-Katu  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --  
  
It was a a dark morning in August, and Jupiter had just awoken. She'd had the dream again, the nightmare that had haunted her since she was tiny. Only now it had her vision from the Hall of Shadow in it.  
  
A succession of images, Voldemort's red eyes, boring into her own blue ones. A deep, but raspy voice coming from high above her head. Her parents leaving her in the drawing room, alone. The rest of the night spent leaned up against the grate, next to the great, cold fireplace. The ashes that she allowed to sting her eyes, and the desperate, panicked throbbing of her tiny heart, hoping that her Dark Lord would return and say there'd been a mistake.  
  
Then, a rush of red wind, and there, before her, stood Severus. Beaten and broken, his red-rimmed eyes barely focusing on her face, his pale countenance swaying from side to side. The Dark Mark on his arm, burning with a black flame, and then the same red eyes appearing behind him...the same raspy voice, staking claim over him, and then a sudden loss of sight, and the abrupt return to reality-  
  
She sat up in bed, holding her sheets to her heaving chest, and slowly waited for the fear to subside and her heartbeat to slow. It was only a dream, no matter how realistic. Her breathing returned to normal, and she tried to ignore the burning depression that set in, replacing the heart- rending fear. She thought of him again, and how she missed him.  
  
Severus had been gone for two months now, spying again for Dumbledore. Jupiter was naturally concerned about him, and very upset that she didn't get to see him anymore. Occasionally she would see him, walking through the hallways, looking like a man who had hang-glided over hell. She would shout to him, and sometimes he would hear, sometimes he wouldn't. If he did hear, he'd send her a glance over his shoulder. It would be sorrowful and lonely, but it was something. She found herself scanning the hallways for him each and every day, hoping she would see him. She rarely did.  
  
As she got dressed, she switched to more happy thoughts, such as the fact that classes start today, and how she still had filing to do. She looked over at the clock on her nightstand. It dutifully chimed out, "It's 5am, you insomniac. Go back to sleep."  
  
Jupiter laughed half-heartedly. "I would, but I don't want to return to my dream. And besides, I have a lot of work to do."  
  
"Suit yourself. But bags under the eyes are very unattractive, you know!"  
  
Jupiter swung her legs out of bed, and put her feet on the floor. She stood up and looked down at her night-dressed form. She wished, vaguely, that she was thinner, but shrugged off the thought, and reached for her paperwork. She piled it up on her bed, and began filing.  
  
A sudden crack of lightning and roll of thunder shook Jupiter from her concentration. It was raining outside, and through the darkness, cold rain was spattering against her windows. She squeaked happily and rushed to one of them, forgetting her obligations as she unlatched the window with a hasty finger and opened it. The cold, wet air rushed into her room, and Jupiter breathed it deeply. She loved the rain, and as the tiny droplets of water drenched her face and torso, she settled into a sort of warm, cozy depression.  
  
Her black hair stuck to her cheeks doggedly as she stared out into the gloom, humming to herself.  
  
"You'll catch your death of cold that way, my dear." came an amused voice from Jupiter's doorway. She smiled into the storm, not opening her eyes.  
  
"Good morning, Draco," she said, "What brings you up here?"  
  
Draco shrugged, though Jupiter couldn't see. "Felt like it. Didn't sleep last night."  
  
"Hah, and you said I'm an insomniac," Jupiter said to her clock. Draco didn't understand, but as Jupiter was nearly always saying something that made no sense, he let it be.  
  
"Thought I'd come up and wake you up in some sort of noisy and probably annoying way. However, you seem to have flouted that plan. "  
  
"Mhmm..."  
  
"Hey, shut that window and pay attention to me," Draco said, walking forwards and pulling the window shut with a bang. "I didn't come up here to be ignored."  
  
She shut the window and turned around. "Didn't you? You come up to my room at 5am and expect my full attention, I suppose. You're lucky I'm awake."  
  
Jupiter was soaked, at least from her shoulders up. Her long black hair was matted to her face, and had her window been any larger, Draco likely would have been able to see straight through her white cotton nightdress. He may have found this intriguing, had he not been totally impervious to Jupiter's charms. Not that she used them on him anyway. But, fortunately, none of this was the case. Isn't it amazing how relevant the size of one's windows are? (Insert cliche "size counts" joke here.)  
  
"Just wanted to talk to you about something..." Draco said, aloof. He obviously, Jupiter thought, had something on his mind. He was usually much more snotty than this.  
  
"What's that?" she asked, mocking Draco's pseudo-aloof tone. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a baggy white button-up dress shirt, and a long black skirt. She undressed, much to Draco's annoyance, and then donned her drier clothes.  
  
"Geez, Jupiter, it's hard to be serious with you when you're naked," he said, petulantly.  
  
"Don't see why not," Jupiter said, and sat crosslegged at the head of her bed. "It's not like you fancy me or anything. You have never shown any interest in shagging me, therefore I think my being naked in front of you is quite normal. And besides, I'm not naked now. Have a seat. Talk to me."  
  
Draco sighed and sat on Jupiter's green comforter. It had silver lining. "Well...there's this...thing."  
  
"Very articulate so far. What about this thing?"  
  
"Funny. Do you want me to talk or not? Because I don't need to talk to you."  
  
Jupiter ached to say, "I think you do. After all, why else would you have come up to my room at 5am?" but, sensing that this would go down like a lead balloon, she said instead, "Sorry."  
  
"It's okay," said Draco, and then clammed up. Jupiter could tell the ball was in her court, now. It was her responsibility to open Draco up.  
  
"Okay...let's see. This thing..." she began, trying to think of something to add to her marvelously constructed sentence thus far. Suddenly, inspiration came. "Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral?" she asked, mischieviously.  
  
Draco stood up angrily, and began to leave. Jupiter lunged forward and grabbed his black silk pajama pants. "Sorry! Sorry! Don't go. I couldn't help myself. Tell me your problem. Is it Potter, like usual? Dumbledore giving you a hard time? Failing Transfiguration?"  
  
"School isn't even started yet. Not until 7," Draco said, grudgingly. She'd done it. Draco couldn't pass up a chance to correct anyone. Draco sat back down, and Jupiter did her best to look pleasant.  
  
"Anyway...it's about my father," Draco said, and looked vaguely embarrassed for bringing the whole thing up.  
  
"Mmm," Jupiter interrupted again, "Sex in a hair ribbon."  
  
"Euch, Jupiter! He's my father! He's in his forties!"  
  
"Snape's 37, what's your point?" Jupiter asked. Draco looked mutinous, and Jupiter sighed. She began wringing out her wet hair over the side of the bed. "Sorry again. So, what's Daddy Malfoy doing now?"  
  
"Just...Trying to get me to join the Dark Side and whatnot."  
  
Jupiter looked surprised, and sat up. "I thought you wanted that," she said, with little emotion in her voice.  
  
"I used to think I did, I was all for it in my second year, but...I don't know...I've grown since then. I think I've grown past it." Jupiter's face didn't move. Draco couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he wasn't worried about it. At least she wasn't making wisecracks anymore. He continued speaking, blindly. "I really don't know how to deal with it. And over the summer, you see...I've made friends with a few people I know my father won't approve of, and-"  
  
"Sod your father, Draco." Jupiter said simply.  
  
"You're so fucking helpful, you know?" He snapped.  
  
"Look, Draco...your father doesn't run your life, you know! He-"  
  
"Yes, Jupiter, he does!" Draco interjected. Jupiter sat dumb.  
  
"Well, then, I can't help you."  
  
There was a moment of quiet wherein Draco and Jupiter both took deep breaths and harnessed their tempers. It was Draco who broke the silence, finally.  
  
"There's another thing..." he said quietly. "You remember Champagne?"  
  
"Champagne..." Jupiter echoed, "The Wronski girl?"  
  
"The same."  
  
"Yes, I remember her. Long blonde hair, blue eyes, entirely too skinny."  
  
Draco smiled a little. "Yeah."  
  
"What about her?"  
  
"Well, she's been owling me." Draco began rubbing his pajamas nervously.  
  
"She couldn't be! Not owling you! The nerve!"  
  
"Well, you haven't read what she's been writing to me..." Draco said quietly. Jupiter's mock look of horror suddenly morphed into a wide, perverted grin.  
  
"Tell me, Draco. Tell me what she wrote you."  
  
Draco shook his head. "I couldn't have said that to you, even when we were dating."  
  
Jupiter's eyebrows shot up and she paused in the braiding of her long hair for a moment, her mouth curled into a highly amused smile. "Well then, thinking of asking her out?"  
  
Draco shook his head. "See, that's the thing. I don't know if I want to, yet. I'm not really sure how to react to these letters."  
  
"You know, Draco. Sometimes, I really think you're gay."  
  
"Psh. Not hardly, sorry. I'm just not as much of a sex fiend as my father. Stop giving me that look."  
  
"What look?"  
  
"Whenever I mention my father, you get this stupid look on your face."  
  
"Don't get me wrong, Draco...I hate your dad. He's too much like mine. I just think he's hot. And besides, you said 'sex' and 'Lucius' in the same sentence."  
  
"I didn't say 'Lucius', I said 'my father'."  
  
"They're synonyms, you nitpicker."  
  
"So, why are you up so early?" Draco asked, changing the subject oh-so- subtly.  
  
"Had a nightmare. Have work to do. The usual. I have a lot of student profiles I was supposed to submit a week ago. Dumbledore's pretty lenient, but I need them in his office in two hours."  
  
Draco still couldn't understand how Jupiter got to be so forward in all her classes, got to be a Prefect, and Head of Student Relations, with her lazy attitude and sarcastic tongue. He sighed. "Want some help?"  
  
"Oughtn't you go to bed, young man?" Jupiter smiled mockingly.  
  
"Why bother? I can't sleep anyway."  
  
"You'd rather help me with paperwork than go back to your room and masturbate?"  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Maybe."  
  
"Sure, then, by all means, have a seat." Jupiter finished braiding her hair and tied it off with a red ribbon. She shoved some papers over to Draco and explained to him what needed to be done.  
  
"I think doing this every year qualifies you as a nutter, Jupiter."  
  
"And volunteering to help me with it qualifies you as what, exactly?"  
  
"You may have a point."  
  
They began filing through student stat sheets, marking down allergies and schedules on separate sheets of papers, and laughing at irregularities in the students, not an uncommon occurence at Hogwarts.  
  
"Quackenbush? Geez, and people make fun of my last name!" Draco said.  
  
"People make fun of your last name?" Jupiter asked, quizzically.  
  
"Well...no."  
  
Jupiter chuckled, and lifted up her next bio. "Look at this one! It's a pirate!" There was a picture of a boy with grey-white hair, and an eye patch. "Jason 'Chaos' Aberidge. Chaos? Sounds more like a professional Quidditch player bio than a student one. And he's a giant, apparently. Six- foot-six. Wow."  
  
"Let me see," Draco said, and took the paper from her. "He's 18, and a pure blood. Only he's an orphan, now, if that term applies to 18 year olds. Lives with aunt in London...boring boring boring...la la la..." Draco continued to mumble as he looked it over. "Sounds like a real head case."  
  
"Well, they do mention that his previous school was a mental institution."  
  
"Well, I know who I'm not sitting next to at lunch," said Draco, "All the weirdness of an entire Gryffindor dorm room in one student."  
  
They marked his information down and continued filing through papers until 6:30. Jupiter pressed a small button by her window, and soon, Fawkes came swooping down. They'd worked that out last year, as Fawkes was more able to carry all the packets of information up than a normal owl. When the phoenix flew out the window, Jupiter turned to Draco.  
  
"Escort me to breakfast?" she asked, smiling. Draco nodded, and Jupiter grabbed her school robes, donned them, and the two walked down to the Great Hall, arm in arm.  
  
***  
  
When she and Draco arrived at the Slytherin table, which was on the far end of the Great Hall, Jupiter pointed at a familiar silver-blond head. "Look, it's him, it's 'Chaos'."  
  
"Well then," said Draco, "You'd better go talk to him. It would appear I have to attend to Pansy."  
  
"Pansy...ah, yes. You two have more in common than just her first name."  
  
Draco rolled his eyes, and wandered over to the empty seat next to Pansy, who immediately began to fawn all over him. Jupiter laughed quietly, some girls were so weird. She, of course, never did that to anyone. Ever. Really. Honest!  
  
She made her way over to the silver-haired boy and sat down. For a minute, she wondered whether the motley grey-white of his hair was natural, or a weird sort of charm gone wrong. Not that it mattered.  
  
"Good morning, Chaos," she said, and smiled at him. She delighted in knowing everyone's name before having met them. But the boy's pale face was devoid of any of the usual shock. Instead, spread across it was the most crooked, disturbing smile* Jupiter had ever seen. Jupiter goggled at him, and scooted a little to her left, to avoid sitting too close to him.  
  
"Good morning, Lady," he said, and his voice was...indescribable. But the effort will be made. It was not deep, nor was it high. It was a little raspy, yet had a tendency to slide over words. Imagine taking a smooth piece of glass, covering it in honey, and rubbing it against a piece of coarse sandpaper, and that is almost how his voice sounded. Jupiter hadn't, in her entire life, heard a voice like it.  
  
Ju said nothing. As if she hadn't all ready known, this boy was certainly far from normal. His profile information came rushing back to her. What was he institutionalized for? Criminal insanity? Borderline personality disorder? Kleptomania? She couldn't remember. Whatever the charges, Jupiter suddenly decided she no longer wanted to be next to the boy. She stood and moved to the opposite side of the table, a few seats away from him.  
  
She began nibbling on her breakfast, though she wasn't terribly hungry. Halfway through her toast (with sliced tomato and melted cheese and bacon on it - mmm!), she became away of a distinct snuffling noise. She turned around to see what caused it, and came nose-to-nose with Chaos.  
  
"You smell of mint, Lady," he said quietly, and Jupiter just stared. His face contorted again into what must be loosely termed a smile, though there was no joy in it. He stood above her, not moving, and Jupiter was only aware of his hot breath on her neck. She shivered and stood, dropping her toast into her pumpkin juice, and rushed off. He did not follow.  
  
***  
  
Later, Jupiter discovered that she had a few classes with the new boy, one of which was Potions, which was second period. She walked into the room, and looked at the walls. Her stomach gave a sick lurch of longing as her eyes scanned the walls of jars and the empty desk.  
  
She moved to her usual seat, next to Pandora Vetinari. Pandora was a tall, slim, and intelligent Slytherin girl with a huge Malfoy fetish.  
  
Moments later, Chaos walked in and saw Jupiter. He paused in his loping walk and have her the familiar, disgruntling Grin. He then strode over, long arms swinging, and plopped heavily into the seat directly behind Jupiter. She shivered at the thought of having his eyes on her for the rest of the year, and yearned to move. Sadly, seats were assigned, and this was not possible.  
  
Pandora leaned over and said, "What a strange looking boy, is he new?"  
  
Jupiter nodded. "He gives me the creeps. He SMELLED me earlier!"  
  
"It's hard not to. You wear a lot of perfume."  
  
"It's not perfume," Jupiter began defensively, "it's an oil, a lotion. And I don't wear lots of it. It's just very strong. I'm not even wearing any today!"  
  
"Suit yourself. It smells like you're wearing it."  
  
"Any case, I meant he leaned over and sniffed me. It was weird."  
  
"Well," Pandora said, "Slytherins aren't always know for their sanity. After all, Millicent Bulstrode once bit a hippogriff, and-"  
  
Jupiter had stopped paying attention. She wondered who'd be filling in for Severus today, since he was off spying. She bent down to look through her bag for her schedule, so she could check and see if it said.  
  
The classroom door opened and shut, and Jupiter was just pulling her schedule out of a side pocket when she heard a strict clearing of the throat. She snapped up in her seat and looked straight ahead, hardly daring to believe what her eyes told her. It was Snape! She resisted the urge to squeal in delight and instead, sat raptly at attention. He looked gaunt and tired, more so than usual, but no one else seemed to notice, much less care.  
  
"Welcome to Potions class," he said, though he didn't sound at all welcoming, "I would like to say that it will be a competant year, but I doubt it. All I can honestly hope for is that some of you will leave this class marginally more intelligent than you were previously," he said in a low monotone, his eyes flicking distastefully over the Gryffindor side of the classroom.  
  
Jupiter turned her thoughts back to Severus, who was checking that everyone had their textbooks. A Gryffindor, typically, didn't have his, and lost Gryffindor five points. The Gryffindors groaned and lost another two for complaining about a fair punishment. Most of the Slytherins sniggered smugly, which Snape ignored. Things seemed to be normal.  
  
Snape gave them a written assignment about potion ingredients, and things pretty much progressed as usual, except that Jupiter had a lot more questions than were really warranted.  
  
Being an avid Potions student, she knew all the answers, but why should she pass up a great opportunity? It was a perfect excuse to have Severus hovering over her, and pointing out various principles and rules of potion- making, all of which she'd known since her first year. She could smell him, she could feel his body heat against her back as he leaned over her.  
  
Severus seemed to note her sudden stupidity, too, because when she raised her hand for the umpteenth time he said, with a touch of cruel amusement, "Since, Miss Vrij, you seem to have left your brains in your common room, why don't you see me after class."  
  
It was not a question, and it was not phrased nicely. The Gryffindors gasped at Snape making a mean comment to one of his precious Slytherins, but Jupiter was ecstatic.  
  
Jupiter failed to pay attention all through the rest of the class, which Snape turned a blind eye to. When class was finally over, Jupiter waved good-bye to a few of her friends, who winked devilishly at her, and she laughed. Then the classroom was empty, except for the two. Snape shut the door and walked over to where Jupiter was standing. He didn't speak, or do anything except stare at Jupiter. Jupiter looked at the floor and broke the silence.  
  
"I-I've missed you a lot, Severus," Jupiter said. Snape said nothing, so Jupiter spoke to fill the space, "It's been hard without you not owling all summer. I've kept asking Dumbledore about you, and even he's not always sure if you're all right. It's been hell without you! How have things been with you? Is everything well? Voldemort hasn't tried to hurt you, has he?" There was a long silence, and Severus's head was hanging tiredly. "...Severus? Severus, are you all right?"  
  
Snape lifted his head with some difficulty. "For Christ's sake, no, Jupiter! I've spent the last two months running around, doing errands for the Dark Lord! Just being in his presence takes everything out of me. He suspects me of being unfaithful, and being around even the dumber Death Eaters reduces me to a nervous, paranoid wreck. I don't know how long I can keep doing this. Now shut up and just let me have a moment of peace with you. Please," he added harshly, his black eyes losing a bit of their anger.  
  
Jupiter nodded apologetically and Severus wrapped her up in his arms. She hugged him back, and they stood that way for what seemed an hour, before Severus pulled away, breathing heavily. Jupiter suspected it wasn't being in such close proximity to her that was causing his breath to come quickly.  
  
"Severus, are you all right?" Jupiter asked, approaching him and placing a pale hand on his black-clad chest. He said nothing, but Jupiter could feel his heart pounding. "Severus-"  
  
Jupiter had no time to finish her sentence before Snape stepped forward angrily, snapped Jupiter up in his arms, and kissed her viciously on the lips. It was full of tension and passion and frustration and heartache, and it ended all too soon. He pulled away and Jupiter gave a disappointed noise, and fell into Severus's chest. She tilted her face up to his and whispered, "Do it again."  
  
Snape sighed heavily, released Jupiter and stalked away across the room.  
  
"Go to your class," he growled, and fell into his chair, digging his fingers into his hair. Jupiter felt as if she would cry, he was not usually this harsh with her. Of course, she reminded herself, it's been more of a hell for him these past two months that it's been for me. I should be more understanding.  
  
She stood for a pensive moment, and watched as Snape rifled mercilessly through papers on his desk. She knew he wasn't reading them, but he knew that Jupiter would leave if he looked busy. She decided to oblige him, and headed to her next class.  
  
***  
  
The rest of her day flew by uneventfully, with Jupiter paying most of her attention to the class (if only to avoid the pain that struck through her when she thought of Severus), except for the classes she had with the new boy. He didn't talk to anyone, indeed, everyone seemed afraid of him. Jupiter didn't blame them. He seemed to have taken a liking to her specifically, because he always sat near her. In fact, he managed to sit directly next to her in her last period, which was Advanced Divination.  
  
After a few days of being constantly panted at and stalked, Jupiter was getting highly paranoid, and more than a little annoyed.  
  
She went outside after last period, breathing heavily. Why was he following her? Why couldn't he stop staring at her? It wasn't as if she was stunningly beautiful or anything. It was so hard to concentrate on anything with that great green eye ogling her every move. She walked past the lake, kicking pebbles angrily in front of her.  
  
Why hadn't she just ignored him? Why did she have to be cocky and approach him in the first place? "Damn me," she thought viciously, "Damn me and my stupid ideas."  
  
Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, with a good idea of who it was. She was right. Chaos stood behind her, with his evil- looking, crooked smile stretched across his face.  
  
"Lady," he began, "You smell of mint."  
  
"I'm sure we've been through this before!" Jupiter cried, her short temper flaring. She had flown long enough, now it was time to fight. "Quit following me! Stop drooling on me! And for pity's sake, stop calling me Lady! My name is Jupiter!" With her outburst, she smacked him across his face. Then she stepped back, realising what she'd done. She prepared to run. But Chaos did not advance on her.  
  
"Thank you, Lady," he whispered, and strode off in an odd sort of fashion. Juipiter stood frozen for a moment, then took off running as fast as she could, and didn't stop until she'd skidded into the Slytherin common room and jumped onto the leather couch, curling up underneath Draco's arm (curiously Pansy-free).  
  
"Draco, you remember that Chaos guy?" she murmured into his chest.  
  
"The only one in Hogwarts crazier than you, you mean?"  
  
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Yes, him. He's fucking terrifying. He follows me around, and keeps telling me I smell of mint."  
  
Draco looked calmly at Ju, and said, sagely, "Well, you do, you know. Rather strongly, I-"  
  
"Draco! This is not about the way I smell! Would everyone leave the way I smell alone? This is about a weird boy who keeps sitting next to me and calling me 'Lady'!"  
  
"God forbid!" Draco said, with mock offense, "Not that!"  
  
"Shut up, Draco. I mean it."  
  
"Well, what do you want me to do about it? Beat him up for you?"  
  
"You'd do that for me?" she asked.  
  
"No, not really,"  
  
"I didn't think so. Besides," Jupiter added, "You couldn't beat him up. He's twice your size."  
  
Draco was about to say something indignant when the door swung open and Chaos walked in. He had leaves in his hair and grass stains on his robes. He offered everyone in the common room a crooked Grin and headed into the dorms.  
  
Jupiter looked at Draco, who smiled evilly.  
  
"He has such a charming smile, don't you think?"  
  
Jupiter hit him with a cushion.  
  
***  
  
It was the next day, and, happily, a Saturday. Jupiter was out on the grounds, enjoying the last of the summer the best way she knew how - reading. But, sadly, she was not to finish Robin Hood that day, as she was interrupted by the most unlikely of people.  
  
"Hello, Jupiter!" called a boy from a little way away. She looked up from her book, over to where the call had come from. There were two boys there. One was tall, lanky, and red-haired. He was standing next to a shorter, black-haired boy. They made their way over to her.  
  
The red-haired one leaned against a nearby tree, looking vaguely annoyed, but the other one approached Jupiter's reclining form.  
  
"How are you?" the short one asked her.  
  
"I'm fine..." she said slowly, "How do you know who I am? You're neither seventh years nor Slytherins."  
  
"My name is Harry Potter, and this is my friend, Ron Weasley, and-"  
  
"I know who you are. I didn't ask that. I asked how you knew who I am."  
  
"Um...Everyone knows who you are," said Harry. He obviously wasn't used to this sort of reaction from anyone.  
  
"Sure they do. So what do you want, my brave little Gryffindors?"  
  
"We just wanted to say hi!" Harry said, and smiled at her. Jupiter's jovial air cooled a little and she looked at Harry, trying to see any sign of mischief, any hint of smugness.  
  
"Well. Hi then," Jupiter said, a cold edge in her voice. She closed her book and stood up. "But if you'll excuse me, I have some Hufflepuffs to hang. I'll see you around," and, with that, she began to walk off.  
  
"Wait! I mean, don't go!" Harry cried out. Jupiter turned again and looked at him.  
  
"Argh. Tell me what it is you want so I can continue being mean to the first-years. So many wedgies to give."  
  
"Where's Draco?" Harry turned a little red and added meekly, "I mean Malfoy." Jupiter looked at him oddly.  
  
"As a matter of fact, I don't know. But if you'd like to leave your name, number, and a short message, he'll get back to you," Jupiter said, and smiled sarcastically. Ron looked about ready to slug her, but Harry forced a laugh.  
  
"Well, do you want to hang out?" Harry asked. Ron looked at him incredulously, but Harry ignored it. Jupiter's face echoed Ron's.  
  
"What? 'Hang out'? Potter, are you nuts? Bludger hit you in the head a couple too many times? I'm a Slytherin, remember? I worship the Dark Lord and eat babies?"  
  
It took all of Harry's willpower to maintain his smile. They can't all be like this, Draco's a decent enough guy... "Well, if you see him, will you tell him we want to talk to him?"  
  
"What is it, 'Take a Slytherin Under Your Noble Wing' day? Since when do Gryffindors go looking for Slytherins? Are you going to 'hang out' with him, too?" Jupiter asked, quirking an eyebrow and frowning slightly.  
  
"Geez, I just wanted to know! I'd forgotten how annoying you Slytherins are!" Harry snapped, and walked off. Ron followed him, shouting I-told-you- so's the whole way.  
  
"You dumb Gryffindorks can't even take jokes." Jupiter snapped, and Harry stopped in his tracks.  
  
Slowly, to Jupiter's amazement, he walked back. He seemed resigned, and sighed. "Will you tell Draco we want him?"  
  
"Well," began Jupiter, the side of her mouth twitching up, "I really don't think he's into threesomes, but sure, I'll tell him."  
  
"Harry! Harry!" three boys were rushing up to the group of people, smiling and waving something in the air. "Look at this!" It was a newspaper clipping.  
  
"What is it?" asked Harry. Jupiter couldn't help but be intrigued. She walked a bit closer to the small, energetic group of Gryffies.  
  
"So," she thought to herself, "This is what Gryffindors do."  
  
"I'll read it to you," said one boy, who Jupiter vaguely recognized as Colin Creevey. "It says:  
  
Recently in Mortein City, home to the Elemental Castles, there was a reported break-in at The Museum of Knicked Knick-Knacks, the popular museum of previously stolen artifacts. Sources say, though, that nothing was stolen. In other news, the Castle of Shadow, long-time tourist attraction and filming place of 'The Muggle', has been shut down for undisclosed reasons.  
  
-Do you suppose that might mean something?" Colin finished, hope gleaming in his eyes. Jupiter laughed hard.  
  
"Don't you suppose it's a bit early in the year to be seeing Dark Lords everywhere?"  
  
Colin blushed a bright red, and Harry glared at Jupiter. Jupiter smiled sweetly, and then turned her attention to the other boy. He was chubby- cheeked and had ear-length sandy brown hair.  
  
"I almost remember you...What's your name again? Nero Longstocking?" she asked, looking under a floppy bit of hair, as if that would help.  
  
"Neville Longbottom," he corrected reproachfully. Jupiter smiled.  
  
"I know. I'm only teasing. It's what we Slytherins do."  
  
"I was under the impression that one thing Slytherins did not do, is hang out with Gryffindors." Jupiter looked at the source of the voice. It was Hermione Granger, know-it-all extraordinaire.  
  
"Ah, yes," Jupiter smiled, straightening up, "More Gryffindors. I'll be the envy of all my friends."  
  
Hermione gave Jupiter a scrutinizing look, and Jupiter merely looked amused. "Hi, Nondescript Gryffindor #56. May I help you?"  
  
Hermione ignored her, and then turned to her friends, who began discussing the article. Jupiter couldn't have cared less, so she began surveying the rest of the group.  
  
She noticed one boy - wasn't his name Sean O'Malley? Something Irish. Finnigan, that's right. Seamus Finnigan. He had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. He was also grinning at her. Jupiter looked down to make sure all her body parts were sufficiently covered, and then noticed that she was now carrying neither her wand nor her book. She must have left them back by the tree. She turned to go retrieve them, when Seamus whistled.  
  
She turned back to see Seamus holding her wand in one hand, and her book in the other. In a second, he was sprinting off across the courtyard. Jupiter took off after him.  
  
"If this is your idea of flirting, Finnigan, I'll tell you now that I only like older men!" she cried, but Seamus appeared not to hear her. "You lousy Gryffindor, give me...back...my wand..."  
  
Jupiter slowed to a stop and fell to the ground. She was clutching her chest and throat with her hands, and was desperately trying to breathe. Within moments, all the Gryffindors had crowded around her, blocking out the red twilight that was shining in her eyes.  
  
"Are you all right?" Harry asked, leaning over her.  
  
"I have (gasp) asthma, and it's (wheeze) horrid," Jupiter lapsed into a coughing fit, "And if I ever get my (deep breath) hands on him, (yawn) Finnigan's dead," she said, between wheezing breaths.  
  
Hermione looked snooty. "Well, you did start it."  
  
"Start it?!" Jupiter cried hoarsely, "I did (gasp) not!"  
  
Harry snatched Jupiter's wand from Seamus's hand and handed it to Jupiter, who ignored its presence on her lap. If she'd looked up, she would have seen Seamus looking acutely embarrassed, and she probably would have been surprised. That, however, was lost on her.  
  
"What's going on?" came a boy's voice from outside the circle.  
  
"Hello," Jupiter wheezed again, "Draco."  
  
"Jupiter, what the hell are you doing surrounded by Gryffindors?"  
  
"They're my (wheeze) Gryffindor Sixth Years collection (gasp). I've nearly got the (cough) whole set!" she said.  
  
Draco pointed his wand at her chest and said "Respiro."  
  
Soon, Jupiter's breathing returned to normal. She stood up and looked at Finnigan. "You," she said, "Are an idiot!" And she stormed off. Seamus looked angry, but the rest of the group shushed him, and they walked off.  
  
And so it was that Jupiter left the courtyard, and went to the Slytherin girls' dorm. She went to the end of the dormitory and opened the door to her room, profoundly glad that prefects get their own quarters. She shut the door and walked over to her bed. With no more ado, she lay down, and fell asleep. 


	6. Chapter 5

Tears bit at the corners of Jupiter's eyes. She wanted to cry, she hated herself for even mentioning, for thinking that she could get herself untied. But then, crying was never a way to deal with anything. She had to find another way.  
  
***  
  
"Draco, I must say I'm surprised to see you here." Lucius said conversationally, as he walked on, leading Severus and Draco down a grimy corridor.  
  
Draco looked at Severus and made a gesture with his head that they should run. But Severus, paled and looking frightened, shook his head emphatically.  
  
"No, you're right, Severus. Escape wouldn't be a good idea. Draco, I'm disappointed that you thought it was an option. I thought you were smarter than that." He clicked his tongue in a disapproving way. Draco was slightly surprised by this, as Lucius was not facing the two.  
  
Draco's mind raced. Harry was under Snape's cloak. Lucius didn't seem to know at the moment, but surely he'd find out soon. How could they get Harry away? Harry was the only one who stood a chance to save Jupiter, and the only one who didn't stand a chance against Voldemort.  
  
A flash of inspiration hit Draco in the shin.  
  
"Ow!"  
  
"Oh yes, watch out for the drainpipes on the side," Lucius drawled coldly, "You might do yourself an injury."  
  
Draco looked at Snape's side of the wall, at the drainpipes. There was a large one coming ahead. Boy-sized, even. But how could Draco get the point across to Harry? He got an idea.  
  
"Father, can we stop? My leg hurts. I bumped it on a DRAINPIPE." Draco whined, and kicked Harry to emphasize "drainpipe". Lucius laughed.  
  
"What are all these DRAINPIPES for, anyway? You could probably fit a grown man into some of these DRAINPIPES." Draco said, kicking Harry again.  
  
"Listen, Draco, if you're trying to subtly hint to Severus that you escape through the drainpipes, you're a moron. First of all, not even I know where they go, but I can't imagine anywhere pleasant. Second, they fill up with water every half hour, and this entire passageway we're in will probably fill up within fifteen minutes. And if you're going to try to escape, then for god's sake, act like a bloody Malfoy and not that stupid Potter boy. You don't have to be so bloody obvious about it."  
  
Draco tried to look embarrassed, but he saw Snape's robes move, and heard a tiny scuffling noise. He realized that Lucius could probably hear Harry as well. How could Draco help?  
  
Without warning, Draco began running the opposite way down the hallway, screaming.  
  
Harry and Snape rolled their eyes. Draco really was no good at being sneaky.  
  
Lucius turned, pointed his wand, and shouted "Crucio!"  
  
Draco fell to his knees, screaming still, but this time in pain. It didn't take long for Draco to pass out. Lucius then used his wand to lift the unconscious boy up and bob him along the hallway.  
  
Snape allowed himself to twitch the corners of his mouth as he and Lucius kept walking. Though Draco had made a complete ass out of himself, at least he had accomplished something.  
  
***  
  
"Master, I have brought you some visitors."  
  
"Very good, Lucius." Voldemort said, facing a painting on the wall. "How is your son, by the way?"  
  
Lucius looked at Draco, who was beginning to come to.  
  
"He's well."  
  
"I knew you would come back to me, Severus. You're so utterly predictable. And since I know you're curious, your precious girl is all ready dead."  
  
Snape glared, but said nothing. He was just trying to get him to react. He was lying, he had to be.  
  
"And would you like to know something else? Before her death, she tried to escape. Yes, she's a crafty one all right, not above selling her body to get herself free."  
  
"You're lying."  
  
"Oh, but I'm not. She did, and quite a few times as well. It didn't help, of course. And when she did die, finally, at my own hands, she was pleading and begging and offering me most shameful things. Were I even slightly interested in distracting myself thusly, I might have kept her alive."  
  
Snape was shaking with fury, but part of him believed in what the Dark Lord was saying. Jupiter had once said that when things scared her, she would try to seduce them, in the hopes that they wouldn't harm her. She would always add, laughingly, "And if they do kill me, at least I'll have gotten some!"  
  
Voldemort, for the first time, turned and looked at the group. His eyes widened, and a look of surprise showed on his face for just a second, before morphing into anger.  
  
"Lucius, you idiot, where is the Potter boy?"  
  
"What do you mean, Master? Harry Potter is not here."  
  
"Don't you tell me where he is, you imbecile!" The Dark Lord cried, and Lucius cringed, "Go find him! He is in the building! Call all the Death Eaters to come search for him!"  
  
"All of them?"  
  
"ALL OF THEM!"  
  
***  
  
Harry crawled madly along the pipe. Only fifteen minutes, only fifteen minutes. He couldn't tell where he was going, and it was pitch black. The pipe was covered in grime, and he kept putting his hands into warm piles that crunched. He tried not to think of what they could be.  
  
As he crawled, he felt something bite his ankle. He didn't know what it was, but he cursed loudly and shook his leg vigorously. When he was sure he'd shaken whatever had bitten him, he began crawling faster.  
  
***  
  
She could try to wriggle out of her binds, and then escape through the portrait again. She wasn't likely to make it, but anything was worth trying. She wiggled and squirmed, and did everything she could to escape the ropes, but managed only to tear most of her sheet off.  
  
"Well, a fat lot of good that did me."  
  
"You said it, sister." Kira agreed.  
  
***  
  
Hayredin called to the Death Eaters guarding Jupiter's cell.  
  
"Come on, all of you, forget the girl, we have to find Harry Potter before he escapes!"  
  
The black figures rushed towards the staircase, and Jupiter craned her neck to watch them leave.  
  
"Harry Potter?" she thought, "Then I do have a chance of survival, great!"  
  
"Ooh, Harry Potter, I've heard of him!" Kira smiled, "I used to belong to his father!"  
  
"Shut up. Wait, what?"  
  
"I used to belong to James Potter! The last time I saw little Harry, he was only this big!" She measured an inch with her fingers. "Well, perhaps a bit bigger than that. Anyway, I was in their house when it was destroyed. I was pulled from the wreckage afterwards, before any police arrived, by some man in a cloak. And I've been kept in this house ever since. It's much roomier than the other house."  
  
"Well, it's a small world after all."  
  
***  
  
He was definitely on a downward slant now. It was kind of obvious, because he kept sliding, and bumping his knees on kinks in the pipe. Would it never end?  
  
Why was he doing this anyway? Jupiter was a dumb Slytherin, and she wasn't even nice to him. Draco probably wouldn't even thank him afterwards, he was just expected to do all the heroing. It was unfair. He hoped Draco was in a lot of pain right now. He hoped-  
  
But Harry was pulled from his reverie by a high, hissing noise. It sounded like a bunch of snakes...or maybe wings flapping...or maybe....  
  
Water.  
  
***  
  
Draco and Severus ran as fast as they could down the passageway. Lucius Malfoy was running after them, cursing.  
  
"Give me back my wand, you little bugger!" Lucius cried. "You're a disgrace to my name and unfit to be called my son!"  
  
Draco, in a fit of rage, pulled his father's wand out of his own pocket, and snapped in it half. And then he broke it into fourths, and threw it back at his father.  
  
Lucius got hit square in the eye with a piece of wood, and shrieked. He stopped running, and clutched at his face.  
  
"Oh, I hope he goes blind!" Draco shouted.  
  
"Shut up and run!" Snape hissed.  
  
They couldn't help but notice that there was a four inch deep pond building at their feet as they splashed along.  
  
***  
  
Harry couldn't help but notice, either. He tried to crawl faster, but the water kept slowing him down.  
  
"Oh gods," he cried, "I'm going to die!"  
  
His ankle was beginning to throb. He hoped it wasn't infected. Though with all the filth in this pipe, he wouldn't be surprised.  
  
But then something happened that did surprise him. He came to an abrupt angle change in the pipe. And, with a scream, he began sliding down.  
  
And down, and down. He was sliding downwards, face-first, at a forty-five degree angle, and it was really going to hurt when he hit bottom.  
  
***  
  
Draco and Severus ran into a side corridor, narrow and pitch black, and paused, panting.  
  
"We ought to...get some idea...of where we're going..." Snape gasped. Draco nodded.  
  
Snape peered out into the hallway, no one was chasing them!  
  
"They must all be looking for Harry," Snape murmured to himself.  
  
"But why would Voldemort want Harry, anyway?" Draco asked, quietly, "What harm can he do now?"  
  
"He defeats or escapes Voldemort every time they meet. The Dark Lord has a bit of a grudge against him. At least, from what I gather."  
  
***  
  
With a splash, Harry hit bottom. Luckily, there was enough water cushioning to keep him from being hurt. He really had to see where he was going now.  
  
"Lumos," he said, and the pipe lit up. The water was clear, but tinted greenish, and the pipe was old and rusty. Harry peered down through the water. What were his choices now? He could go up, but then the water would get to him before he got out. And, wait, he couldn't go up anyway. There was no way he could climb all the way up, it was too steep.  
  
There was only one way. Harry held his breath, and ducked under the water. He began swimming downwards as fast as possible, forcing his eyes open, though he didn't trust what was in the water.  
  
After a time, he reached the bottom of the slope, and began swimming horizontally again. His body was giving him warning signals, he needed to breathe...but there was no air. But he kept on diligently, as fast as he could. His eyes were beginning to cloud, and he was seeing lights now. His lungs were going to burst.  
  
"Oh gods," Harry thought silently, choking up a little, "I'm really going to die now. I'm going to suffocate in a dirty pipe in an ugly old castle and I'll never get to tell Draco I for-" Harry let go of all the air he was holding, and took a deep pull of water, trying to breathe. He passed out.  
  
***  
  
"Why aren't we going up?" Draco cried, as he and Severus ran. There was a decent foot of water on the floor now, and the going was getting tedious.  
  
"Because we have to get Jupiter."  
  
"Are you deaf or just daft?! Didn't you hear what Volde-"  
  
"He lied."  
  
Draco looked frantic. "You don't know that! What if she's dead?"  
  
"What if she's not?" Snape's eyes held a fierce sort of emotion; fear, hope, and determination.  
  
Draco shut up and kept running.  
  
***  
  
Harry coughed, and green water spilled out of his mouth onto the stone. He spluttered and gasped, breathing in the dank air. He opened his eyes, and looked around. There was no one there, not even anything on the black walls of the corridor.  
  
How was he alive? What had saved him? He patted himself all over, and though he was wet, he didn't seem to be harmed.  
  
He looked behind him. There was a small square opening, filled with water. It was glowing. Harry leaned over, out of curiosity. His wand was lying at the bottom of a small pool. He reached down and grabbed it. He turned out its light and stood up shakily. His ankle was incredibly painful.  
  
He pulled up his pant leg and gasped. His ankle had swollen to about the size of a grapefruit, and was bright purple. He wished Hermione was there, she knew more healing charms than anyone he knew.  
  
Well, he would have to get going. He took a few steps, and found that he could limp rather effectively. He went forward, as it seemed as good a solution as any.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter heard a loud creak as a door opened cautiously.  
  
"Who's there?" she called.  
  
"Jupiter?" a male voice answered.  
  
"No, you can't be Jupiter, I'm Jupiter."  
  
"Hello, Jupiter."  
  
"Hello, Harry. It's about time you arrived. Our boyfriends are in mortal danger and all the Death Eaters are after you."  
  
"Ah, thanks for telling me."  
  
"Oh, no problem. Now, would you care to unt-"  
  
The doors burst open and Severus and Draco ran into the room.  
  
"Jupiter! Are you all-Potter?"  
  
"No, I'm not all Potter, actually. I'm hardly any Potter at all."  
  
"Harry, how did you get here?"  
  
"I swam."  
  
"Swam? Through where?"  
  
"Jupiter, are you all right?"  
  
"Yes, I'm fine, but I'd be much more fine if someone would unt-"  
  
A bunch of Death Eaters appeared at the door.  
  
"Oh good," Jupiter cried, "Let's have a party!"  
  
"There's the Potter boy!"  
  
"Expelliarmus!" Snape cried, thinking quickly. The first two figures' wands flew out of their hands and into Severus's.  
  
And so the battle began.  
  
"Quick, get Jupiter!" Snape cried to Harry, who nodded. Snape narrowly dodged a curse.  
  
Harry rushed to loosen Jupiter's binds, while the battle behind him raged. A curse nearly hit Harry's side, and he threw himself forward into Jupiter's bosom fearfully.  
  
"Why, Harry!" Jupiter said, looking down at him, "I didn't know you cared. I do have a boyfriend, though. All though I might not for much longer if you don't get your face out of my breasts and untie me!"  
  
Harry lifted his face up and looked at her. "Listen, Jupiter. I don't WANT to save you. I'm only doing it because I'm the ruddy hero and my boyfriend is out there, in mortal danger. And if you keep being snotty, I might forget that I'm a brave and noble Gryffindor and just leave you to die! Now, why don't you SHUT UP while I untie you?!"  
  
Jupiter fell into a sheepish silence, and Harry nodded. He began to work on the knots again. Within not too long, Jupiter was untied.  
  
"Listen, Kira," Jupiter said, and the painting leaned forward eagerly, "Mr. Potter here and I are both going to die horribly soon if you don't help us. So I'll make you a deal, you can sound the alarm that we're getting away, and we'll get away."  
  
***  
  
When the Death Eaters awoke, it was to Kira's rather desperate screaming.  
  
"THEY'RE GETTING AWAY! THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!!"  
  
In alarm, most of the conscious Death Eaters scrambled to their feet and crawled through the portrait hole, while the others went back out through the door to head them off.  
  
After a few seconds, Kira fell silent. Jupiter poked her head out from behind the door. Kira gave her a wink and a smile.  
  
"Happy escaping. Thanks for keeping me entertained." The painting gave another, more wistful smile as the group ran off down another corridor.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter laughed a little as they ran. "It's a good thing she knew you, Potter, otherwise I doubt we'd have gotten away!"  
  
"Yeah. Good for me." Harry said nonchalantly, as he kept running.  
  
"What's wrong, Harry?" Draco asked.  
  
"It was too easy. It's never that easy."  
  
"Nah, it's just cuz you're working with Slytherins instead of those pansy Gryffindorks!"  
  
Harry was just about to retort that he wasn't a pansy Gryffindork, but he reflected that he probably was.  
  
"Like you can talk, Draco. Your idea of a good distraction was to run down the hallway shrieking like a banshee!"  
  
"I panicked!"  
  
"Panicking? Not the unrufflable Draco Malfoy, surely?"  
  
"Listen, Potter-"  
  
"Shut up, both of you. I'm sick of your petty quarrelling. He's right, Draco." Severus said, "Escaping from the Dark Lord can't be that easy. I mean, really, he's not an idiot."  
  
The group began to slow to a trot, and then to a walk.  
  
"So what now?" Draco asked, turning to Harry.  
  
"What the hell are you asking me for? Who do I look like, Ann Landers?" Harry snapped. Draco goggled at him. Harry mentally sighed and tried again, "Why the hell do I have to know?"  
  
"Well," Draco said, nettled, "YOU'RE the hero here!"  
  
"Do YOU want to be the designated hero here? Because I sure don't! I didn't ask to come along on your crazy escapade!"  
  
"Well at least I tried to save you!"  
  
"Well at least I did save you!"  
  
"Well I didn't get all smug about it!"  
  
"You did too! You ARE, too!"  
  
"But you are more than me!"  
  
"I am not!"  
  
"Well at least I'm not wearing my pyjamas!"  
  
"Well at least I didn't cheat on you with RON!"  
  
There was a dead silence.  
  
"I thought you said we weren't going to mention that any more." Draco looked down at his shoes sadly.  
  
"I'm sorry, Draco...I didn't mean..."  
  
"No, no, don't worry."  
  
"No, I'm sorry. I was just angry. I'm not mad at you." Harry took his shamefaced boyfriend in his arms, and they just held each other.  
  
Jupiter and Snape exchanged a glance and a shrug.  
  
"So...what? What should we do?" Jupiter asked.  
  
"I'm not sure. I don't even know a way out of here." Snape said.  
  
"There isn't a way," said a menacing voice, barely above a whisper. A dark figure stepped out from the shadows.  
  
***  
  
Standing before them was a gaunt, pale man, and Jupiter recognized him immediately.  
  
"Hayredin."  
  
"Hello, Jupiter. Are these your friends?"  
  
Jupiter glared at him, "It's a bit late for you to try to find out about the crowd I hang out with, isn't it?"  
  
Hayredin ignored her. "And is this your boyfriend?" He pointed to Harry with his wand.  
  
"Guess again."  
  
"Shame, he suits you. Then this one, must be the one I was told you were...consorting with," he said, moving his wand and aiming it at Draco.  
  
"Wrong again."  
  
Hayredin looked surprised for a fleeting second, then put two and two together and glared at Snape. He'd always heard Jupiter whinging on to her mother about Severus this, and Snape that. He'd thought it just a normal obsession, but it appeared he was wrong.  
  
"You." was all Hayredin said, looking at Snape. "You monster." The tension in the room elevated wildly, as Snape returned the death glare.  
  
"Dad, like I said, too late to be fatherly." Jupiter reached to pull out her wand and curse him out of the way, when she remembered she didn't have it.  
  
"I should have guessed that you were her father," Snape said quietly. Harry, Draco, and Jupiter had subconsiously backed away from the two adults, who were just glaring at each other menacingly. The air crackled with tension.  
  
"I should have guessed that a traitor like you would find my failed daughter attractive." Hayredin cocked his head to the side and looked mock-sympathetic. "The only pair of legs you could find comfort between?"  
  
Snape growled and jumped forward, startling Jupiter's father. He grabbed Hayredin's wand with one hand, his throat in the other. Jupiter watched in shock as Snape held her father silent and hissed at him.  
  
"How dare you say that about her. About your own daughter."  
  
Hayredin smiled cruelly, and spoke as best he could, "I don't blame you. I shall always cherish the time I spent there."  
  
Jupiter's pretty mouth dropped open. Harry and Draco, who hadn't heard, looked confused. And Snape, whose expression didn't change, stuck the point of his wand into the bottom of Hayredin's chin and whispered.  
  
"Avada Ked-"  
  
"Severus, please don't!" Jupiter cried, shaken from her frozen state. She looked at Snape with horror in her eyes, and he faltered.  
  
Hayredin looked angered, and, oddly, he didn't struggle away. "That's so like you, Jupiter," he sneered, trying to find enough air to hiss at her, "You couldn't stand to see your own father die."  
  
Jupiter spat in her father's face. "No. I just don't want to see Severus become a killer."  
  
"Your dearest Severus IS a killer, Jupiter," her father retorted, angered even more so.  
  
"Not for personal reasons. Not for YOU."  
  
Snape looked at Jupiter. Jupiter looked at Snape. Then, quietly, she took her father's wand and pointed it at his face.  
  
"Father," she said quietly, "You don't deserve my pity. Contemno!"  
  
A purple flash filled the room, and when everyone's eyes had adjusted to the semi-darkness, they saw Hayredin, lying on the floor, quite motionless.  
  
"Did you kill him?" asked Harry quietly, after a while.  
  
"She did not," said Snape in an equally awed voice, "The Contemnus Curse is Dark Magic, causing the victim to be knocked unconsious for normally three hours, wherein they relive everything they've ever regretted. It can take longer or less, depending on how many regrets they have. When they awake, they will be filled with such hate for themselves and everything they have done that they cannot bear to live with themselves. It nearly always ends in suicide."  
  
"So," said Draco, "She basically did kill him."  
  
"Basically," said Harry.  
  
The group sat silent for quite some time, staring at Hayredin on the floor.  
  
"Hey," Draco said suddenly, looking around, "Where's Jupiter?"  
  
***  
  
"They're not here yet," said a large, round Death Eater.  
  
"That's true, Goyle, now what colour is your hood?" snapped Zabini.  
  
"Umm....grey?"  
  
Zabini rolled his eyes. He'd been dealing with Frederick Goyle's stupidity for nearly an hour. "What are you, blind? It's black!"  
  
"Well, sometimes it looks grey in the light."  
  
"Listen up, you giant lump of lard," cried Zabini, his temper finally cracking, "If you-"  
  
"Stop it, Zabini! Where is the boy?" cried Lucius, hood down, silvery blonde hair flowing behind his head as he marched swiftly towards them. The white of his left eye was blood red.  
  
"I don't know, Lucius."  
  
"Dammit, Alpha, what on Earth caused Master to choose you as one of his faithful is beyond me!" Lucius snapped, just short of hitting the man's face. "We need the Potter boy. Now! Search the rest of the castle! Goyle, round up...Nevermind. You stay here, Goyle. Alpha, find the others. Tell them to search the castle. Tell them to seach everywhere."  
  
***  
  
"Jupiter, are you all right?" Draco asked, giving the crying girl another hug. She just cried harder.  
  
"No," Snape began. "Doing a curse that powerful and that awful is something that's hard to do. It drains one, emotionally. Especially one so young as her." Snape was standing off to the side. It pained him to see Jupiter like this, but he couldn't bring himself to cuddle her like Draco was doing, at least not with the other two boys present.  
  
"He...He called me Ju-Ju Bear once," Jupiter moaned into her friend's shoulder. "It was on one of my christmas present tags when I was five. 'From Daddy, to his little Ju-Ju Bear.'" Jupiter's sentence was punctuated by a loud sob. "I was always his Little Princess, he would always take me out to the zoo, and to the aquarium, so I could see all the Xenosharks and guppie-fish. Oh god!" she clutched Draco's shoulder. "I want to take it back! I want to undo it!"  
  
"Jupiter," Snape began softly, but the girl had all ready squirmed away from Draco and scrabbled over to her father's body, lying twisted in pain on the floor.  
  
"I know what you're seeing," she whispered to him, a tear dripping from her face to his, and he flinched as if it burned him. "You're seeing everything you've regretted doing."  
  
Severus wanted to say something, but he couldn't think of what. Draco and Harry were merely staring at her in shock and confusion.  
  
"And you know what?" Jupiter said quietly, "If anything, absolutely anything you regret has to do with leaving or neglecting me, I forgive you." She lay her head on her father's chest and screwed up her face. "I forgive you."  
  
Jupiter felt a weight on her head. She knew it was her father's hand, not only by the gasps her friends had made, but from long-buried memories of childhood. But his touch was gentle, and the others seemed to notice this, as they did not approach. His skeletal fingers stroked her hair, in a way Jupiter remembered vaguely, but piquantly . Her eyes filled again with tears, but she dared not cry them. She dared not move or make a sound, for fear that the moment would vanish.  
  
After what seemed like an hour, but was likely only thirty seconds, her father's hand fell to his chest with a thump. Jupiter lifted her head slowly, reluctantly, as if it were filled with sand and heavy to lift. She looked at her father's face. It was sallow and gaunt, with heavy bags under his eyes. There were few wrinkles, except those around the edges of his mouth, indicating that he frowned much more often than he smiled. He was also quite unconsious. Jupiter faced her friends.  
  
"Did he, I mean, was he awake?" she asked softly.  
  
Snape retained his look of dumbfoundedness. Only Draco spoke. "I don't think so. He didn't open his eyes at all. He stopped twitching after you cried on him, and then he touched your hair. Nothing else moved."  
  
Jupiter nodded, still tearful, and looked over at Snape. He shook his head disbelievingly.  
  
"It's impossible for that to have happened, Jupiter. Your tears and your touch would normally have only driven him further into pain. I can't imagine how that could..."  
  
Jupiter didn't look surprised. But she did, suddenly, look very old. Or rather, like the very young who had seen too much, matured too quickly. She fell down on the floor and shut her eyes.  
  
"I'm tired," she said simply. Draco stepped forward to help her up, but Severus interrupted his path by swooping upon her and lifting her up easily in his arms. It was obvious by her weight that she hadn't eaten in days. She curled into his chest and her thin fingers clutched at his robes. He felt somehow very secure, as if he could do anything, conquer any monster. But now was not the time for monsters and silliness. Now he had to find a way out of there.  
  
***  
  
"Lucius, have they found the boy?" Voldemort inquired as soon as Lucius opened the door.  
  
"I've told them to search everywhere."  
  
"So they haven't."  
  
"No, Master."  
  
"Lucius, I want this boy." The Dark Lord said menacingly, facing away from Malfoy, "If he gets away, it will mean your life."  
  
Lucius's heart skipped unpleasantly. "Yes, Master."  
  
***  
  
Severus was distraught. He loved Jupiter, and he knew it. She was young, yes, and had the problems that come from being so, but she was really more mature than most girls her age. She'd been through a lot and Severus wondered what on Earth could she have done to earn herself such a horrid life.  
  
Which brought his thoughts back to what Hayredin had said. "I shall always cherish the time I spent there?" It didn't make sense. No, he corrected himself, it did make sense. That was the frightening bit. Surely he couldn't have done that to her. Jupiter would have told, certainly. No, perhaps not. It was a horrible thing to think about, that her own father would...He couldn't bear to finish the thought. How long had it been going on? Into Jupiter's teenhood? She wouldn't have allowed that, would she? Not unless he'd been doing it for a long time...Since Jupiter was very young...Snape shuddered.  
  
He looked down at Jupiter, who was asleep. She was peaceful when she slept, and even if she was sharp-tongued, sarcastic, prone to trouble, and hard to manage when awake, it was so easy to forgive her when she was sleeping. Particularly when she was sleeping with her face nuzzled into your chest, Severus added mentally, with a bit of a smile.  
  
Draco and Harry followed Snape quietly, since he seemed to have a better escape plan than they did, which consisted of having one at all. They remained totally silent, though whether this was out of fear of waking Jupiter or the lack of anything to say no one really knew.  
  
After walking for what seemed like hours through dim-lit passages, they all heard footsteps. They seemed to be coming from the opposite side of the wall. Then there were voices.  
  
"Any luck yet, Zabini?" said one.  
  
"That you, McNair?"  
  
"Yeah. Any luck?"  
  
"No. I don't understand where they could be. But don't worry. Tell Lucius we'll find them. The Potter boy AND his friends."  
  
"You'd better, or he'll have you head. And I'm not exaggerating."  
  
"The scary part is, McNair, I believe you. See you."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
That seemed to be the end of the conversation. Draco and Severus exchanged glances, and they kept walking.  
  
***  
  
Mikhail Crabbe was alert as a fox. Well, perhaps a really dim fox. Really, he was like more of a...goat. No, no, that's not right either. More like a, well a...Like a not-so-terribly-alert-but-trying-very-hard object. Anyway, he was patrolling the hallway, quite ready to beat up anything that passed him. As a matter of fact, he was just about to do so to a small, scurrying object when it squealed.  
  
"Crabbe! Stop it! Don't hurt me!" the little old man squeaked, struggling to get away from Crabbe, who had lifted him off the ground by his robes.  
  
"Oh. Wormtail. Sorry." He set the little man down. Wormtail began walking along with Crabbe, eyes darting every which way, looking for any sign of Harry Potter.  
  
"We must find them for Master," he said to himself, and Crabbe nodded. They turned a corner and saw, against all reason, the back of Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Severus Snape, who appeared to be carrying the other member of their motley crew. Crabbe gave a small yelp of surprise, and they all whirled around.  
  
"Harry Potter!" cried Crabbe, predictably.  
  
"Wormtail," Harry hissed.  
  
They turned and took off at a run, going as fast as they could.  
  
Jupiter was shaken awake. "Wha-what's going on, Severus?"  
  
"We're being chased." Snape said shortly. Jupiter peered over Severus's shoulder behind him and saw Wormtail and Crabbe following faster than she would have expected. She reached her hand inside Snape's robes.  
  
Snape wanted to tell Jupiter that now was not the time to get fresh, but he couldn't afford to waste his breath. Jupiter had been relatively light until he'd started running. Then he felt Jupiter's finger grasp around his wand and pull it out. She pointed it shakily at their pursuers, and shouted, in a croaky voice, "Stupefy!"  
  
It hit Wormtail, and knocked the feeble man over, unconsious. Crabbe, however, looked as if nothing short of the stopping power of a dozen brick walls was going to stop him. Just as Snape turned the corner, though, Jupiter saw, against all reason, the burly man's head come off completely in a spray of blood.  
  
"Severus, Severus, oh my god! Stop!" she hit Snape's shoulder urgently and he stopped, grateful for the break. Jupiter leapt out of his arms and ran back to the other hallway.  
  
She stared in shock at the ugly head lying not more than ten feet from her, its face frozen in a rictus of anger.  
  
"That's disgusting." said Harry, from behind her. She nodded dumbly and searched the hallway for any sign of his killer.  
  
"There's nothing here that could have done this," Harry remarked.  
  
"That's true. And I vote that we don't put too much effort into finding out, lest we get ourselves killed. Let's go." Jupiter said briskly, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him off, back around the corner. But when she got there, she saw something nearly as frightening as Crabbe's disembodied head. "Where'd Draco go?" she cried.  
  
***  
  
His life depended on the finding of Harry Potter. His life. Lucius paced up and down the corridor worriedly. He didn't like to admit it, even to himself, but he was worried. He'd done various charms and drank various immortality potions, and so on to protect himself, but he didn't know how effective it would be. Voldemort, the most powerful Dark wizard alive, had used many more precautions than he, Lucius, had, and he was reduced to the state of a mere whisper. Lucius wasn't sure he wouldn't rather die than become that.  
  
He had to find Harry Potter. He stalked off down the corridor angrily.  
  
***  
  
"I don't know," said Severus, "I assumed he was running behind me."  
  
"Me too," agreed Harry.  
  
"Well, I guess we'd better go look for him," said Jupiter, and began walking. But Snape caught her arm and dragged her back.  
  
"It's not safe. Look, I want you and Harry to stay here. I'll put an Obscurus charm on you, the most powerful I can manage. I will go look for Draco. Of all of us, he and I are the two least likely to be harmed."  
  
"Severus," said Jupiter quietly, "I don't want you to go alone. You could be-"  
  
"I'll be fine. I can take care of myself, all right?"  
  
"I want to be able to keep in touch with you."  
  
Snape nodded. He took her wrist, and placed it next to his own. He took back his wand and pressed it against both of their wrists. "Enaudio, noster nostri."  
  
The wand heated up quickly and painful, and the hissing noise made from the wand burning their wrists was enough to sicken the strongest of hearts. Jupiter bit her lip as she felt something a needle stick into her wrist, travel into her heart, then shoot back out and remain in her wrist as a sort of warm, but not uncomfortable, plate beneath the skin.  
  
"What was that?" she asked, as Snape pulled his wrist and wand away. He lifted his wrist to his mouth and spoke.  
  
"Enaudius charm. Uncommon, probably illegal." Jupiter heard in her head, as well as hearing him speak.  
  
"How odd. What was the 'noster nostri' bit?"  
  
"It's the second part of the spell, it's optional. It means 'our hearts beat as one.' Whatever you feel, I feel, and vice versa. Not physically, emotionally." he replied.  
  
Jupiter gave Snape a smile. "You're so smart."  
  
Snape ignored her compliment and pointed his wand at her and Harry. "Obscuro!"  
  
A blinding white light shot from his wand and hung in the air for a moment over Harry's head. Then it exploded, and tiny bits of white light lodged themselves in Harry and Jupiter's skin, and when the light faded, so did they.  
  
Snape was looking at Jupiter, but with an unfocused stare that indicated that he couldn't see her anymore. "I cannot see you now, nor will I be able to hear you if you speak to me, unless you use the Enaudius charm. No one else can hear you or see you, either, but they can feel you. Be wary."  
  
Jupiter lifted her wrist to her mouth and whispered, too quiet for Harry to hear, "I love you, Severus."  
  
Snape looked surprised, and said, into his wrist, "Jupiter, now is not the time."  
  
Jupiter laughed. "I know. You just can't bear to tell me you love me, can you?"  
  
"I can."  
  
"Then do."  
  
"Not in front of Potter."  
  
"Fine, then. Have fun finding Draco."  
  
"Indeed," Snape said, and walked off.  
  
Jupiter turned to Harry and sat down on the floor.  
  
*** 


	7. Chapter 6

Title: Volva a Scelus  
Author: Katu Backwards  
Author email: katubish@hotmail.com  
Rating: R (ish)  
Summary: When a new boy begins school at Hogwarts, everything goes splodey. Sex, Voldemort, arguments, secrets, heroism, blood, and fluffy kittens named Foofkins.  
  
Disclaimer: Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and so on, do not belong to me. As you might have guessed. Chaos Aberidge is mine, Jupiter is mine, so on and so forth. Use 'em if you want, just link me. By link me I mean give me the link.  
  
The normal rule goes, if you want to know when I update, leave your e-mail in a review and tell me so. I can think of nothing to disprove this.  
  
Constructive criticism welcome and encouraged.  
  
Various mild ideas including but not limited to; humour style, beginning-of-chapter information, ending-of-chapter summary, and some random information (ie - Draco's middle name being Thomas, etc), borrowed from the oh-so-talented, charmingly bohemian, tragically impoverish writer Cassandra Claire.  
  
And now we return you to your regularly scheduled fic.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Wormtail woke up with a migraine. However, he generally did, so this was nothing new to him. The fact that the first thing he saw when he awoke was Crabbe's decapitated body, however, was a relatively recent development in his life. He stood shakily and then what had happened hit him. He'd lost Harry Potter. He shook with the fear of the punishment he was sure to recieve.  
  
"How goes it, Wormtail?"  
  
The little man gave a squeak and turned around. Standing there was Lucius Malfoy, looking more cold and imposing than ever.  
  
"N-not well, sir."  
  
"I can see that. What happened?"  
  
Wormtail cringed. If he told Lucius, Lucius would know that he lost Harry Potter. "I-I-I d-don't know, sir."  
  
"Oh," said Lucius, looking sympathetic. Then a fire lit up behind his eyes and he smiled cruelly. "But I think you do know, Wormtail."  
  
Wormtail squealed in horror and threw himself at Lucius's feet as if he'd been struck. "Harry Potter was here, but the Vrij girl cursed me! I did not see any more! I could not help it!"  
  
Lucius kicked Wormtail in the face, freeing his legs from the man's embrace. "Get your filthy lips off my boots." He growled.  
  
"Thank you, sir, thank you. You are kind, you are generous, you are-"  
  
"I am none of those. You cannot pull your sniveling on me, even though Master tolerates it." Lucius walked briskly over to Crabbe's body and inspected the wound. "An odd occurence. Master will not be pleased."  
  
Lucius cowered inwardly. He could not escape his fate without the Potter boy, but he was so damn slippery.  
  
"They couldn't have gone far. Wormtail!" the old man jumped at the sound of his name.  
  
"Y-yes, Lucius?"  
  
"You will report to master. You will tell him of Crabbe's demise, and you will tell him I am getting closer."  
  
Wormtail nodded and scuttled off.  
  
"Disgusting creature." Lucius said, distastefully.  
  
***  
  
"So, Potter, how's school?" Jupiter asked, sitting cross-legged, her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees.  
  
"Er...decent." Harry had never been alone with Jupiter before, really. She seemed much nicer now than she normally did. "And you?"  
  
"The usual, accepting and rejecting applications for students in the area, choosing prefects, making sure all the first years know what they're doing, scheduling them for classes, telling the house elves the new allergies of the students, so on and so forth."  
  
"Wow," said Harry, "And I thought Hermione did a lot."  
  
"Yeah," Jupiter smiled, "Well, she does. She and I talk rather a lot, actually."  
  
"Really?" It had never occured to Harry that Hermione might have friends outside of Gryffindor. He felt awfully silly admitting that to himself.  
  
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure she's going to be Head Girl when she's older."  
  
"How could you do that? You won't even be here when she's a seventh year."  
  
Jupiter laughed. "No, I don't choose Head Boy and Girl, that's Dumbledore's decision. I just know. Besides, do you really think I won't come back and be Head of Student Relations forever? I've become awfully attatched to the job."  
  
Harry was dumbfounded. He liked Hogwarts sure enough, but he didn't want to work there. He didn't think he wanted it to be a part of his life forever. "Isn't there anything else you want to do?"  
  
"Well, I used to want to be a Death Eater when I grew up, but my plans were crushed at an early age."  
  
"You're not as funny as you think you are, Jupiter," Harry said, annoyed.  
  
"I'm not being funny. Though I hear it's hard to take me seriously when I'm naked," Jupiter said quietly.  
  
Harry realized by the openness in her eyes that she wasn't lying. "Why on Earth would you-"  
  
"I was raised to know that Death Eaters were a highly esteemed group. My father made sure I would get into Hogwarts before I was old enough to hold up my own head, knowing that I could spy on Dumbledore for him. So on and so forth."  
  
"But...working at Hogwarts forever? Isn't there something else you'd like to be?"  
  
"Yeah," Jupiter said wistfully. "Severus's wife."  
  
***  
  
Snape wasn't making much progress. He'd gotten himself thoroughly lost, and it only seemed to be getting darker. He didn't dare light his wand, lest he was found. The only thing keeping his spirits up was listening to Jupiter's voice in his head.  
  
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure she's going to be Head Girl when she's older." Jupiter's voice was sultry and bored-sounding, but Snape knew that was her idea of being friendly.  
  
Then Harry's voice, faint and tinny sounding, since he was far away, "How could you do that? You won't even be-"  
  
Snape thought he spied something down the hallway, in an alcove. He crept slowly closer, in case it was a Death Eater instead of Draco. He inched along the wall and when he got close enough to the alcove, he peered around the corner at it. It was a statue of the Holy Mother. Snape sighed, and went back to listening to the voices.  
  
"Isn't there something else you'd like be?" Harry's voice echoed softly.  
  
"Yeah. Severus's wife."  
  
Snape froze. He couldn't believe she'd said that. Well, she was Jupiter, he could believe it. She was always rather blunt about things. That, however, was one thing he assumed she didn't think about.  
  
He'd thought about it, of course, fleetingly. He'd had a picture of himself and Jupiter, slightly older, and looking rather happy together. It was a hard image to get used to. He'd always been alone, always been sour and unhappy. Jupiter changed that, and Severus wasn't always sure he liked that change. He'd gotten so used to the pain that he almost couldn't stand it being away. He felt uneasy.  
  
He leaned against the wall. He didn't know how to deal with Jupiter, he really didn't. He cared for her, yes, he enjoyed looking at her and touching her, but he was so unused to the entire love situation that he lived in constant fear of saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing...Getting hurt, really. That was what it all boiled down to. There was that matter of the girl in his school days, that had seriously soured him on girls. He'd been-  
  
Without warning, Snape heard something that really shocked him.  
  
***  
  
Harry cringed. "Ew, him?"  
  
"Yes, him. And don't you 'ew' me," Jupiter laughed. "He's a nice fellow, really. He's hard to get close to, though. He's got such great defences. I think he's afraid I'll make him soft."  
  
Harry snickered.  
  
"Harry! You pervert!" Jupiter said, looking mock offended.  
  
"I am fifteen, you know. Hormones high and all that."  
  
"Well I must say," said Jupiter, haughtily, "That Severus has never had any problems in THAT area!"  
  
Harry's jaw dropped. "You haven't-You're not-He wouldn't!"  
  
"No, I haven't. No, we're not. Yes he would." Jupiter replied firmly.  
  
Harry looked thoroughly disgusted. "But...why?"  
  
"Because I'm insanely attractive and I have a knack for seducing professors, that's why." Jupiter added. Harry really couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not, since she nearly always used the same tone. "And besides, you have mad butt-sex with Draco Malfoy-"  
  
"I do not!"  
  
"-and that's no more gross than Snape and I-"  
  
"Stop that sentence right there!" Harry cried.  
  
"-Shagging madly."  
  
"Awwww," moaned Harry, "Why'd you do it?"  
  
"Because you're cute when you're grossed out, that's why." Jupiter frowned slightly. "But really, how else do you expect he and I to have children?"  
  
Harry's jaw dropped, and Jupiter laughed. She pointed at Harry, "That's exactly what Severus just did." She lifted her wrist to her mouth. "I do want children, you know, Severus." He didn't reply, but Jupiter could sense that he was feeling rather shocked.  
  
"Snape?" said Harry. "Kids?"  
  
"Yeah, Daddy Severus!" Jupiter smiled. "It'd be great. We'd have two kids, a boy and a girl. The boy would be named German and the girl would be named Maria."  
  
"I hate the name Maria." came Severus's voice in her head. Jupiter smiled broadly and lifted her wrist.  
  
"What would you pick, then? What would you name our daughter?"  
  
"If I were to have female offspring in the far future-"  
  
"Not too far, darling. You're quite old enough for children."  
  
"In the future, I would name her Eileen."  
  
"Why Eileen?" Jupiter asked, suddenly serious.  
  
"Eileen was my mother's name." Snape said softly, acutely embarrassed.  
  
"Was?"  
  
"She died about four years ago."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
There was a long silence. "Me too."  
  
"Is your father alive?" Jupiter asked, suddenly intrigued.  
  
"He's old. And insane."  
  
"Does insanity run in your family?"  
  
"It does not."  
  
"It runs in mine."  
  
"Jupiter, I have a job to do."  
  
"...Then do it. I still love you."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Potter's not here, Severus."  
  
"He is. He's with you."  
  
"He can't hear you."  
  
Snape said nothing, and could feel Jupiter's hurt inside him. He didn't want to hurt her, but how could he bring himself to say it? He shook his head, realizing that that was not the matter at hand, and continued down the corridor.  
  
***  
  
Harry was beginning to get tired, and his ankle was very much beginning to be a part of his life again, in a particularly painful way. Jupiter had stopped paying attention to him, and was conducting a quiet conversation with Severus.  
  
Harry looked up at the mention of his name.  
  
"He can't hear you," Jupiter said reproachfully. She let her arm fall to her lap. She stared at the opposite wall for a bit. Then she turned at looked at Harry. Harry tried to think of something helpful to say, something relatively comforting, as Jupiter looked rather put out. But then she spoke.  
  
"Harry, who's your secret keeper?"  
  
Harry's jaw dropped. "Where the hell, what-why do you ask? What are you talking about?"  
  
"Your secret-keeper. Someone who holds the-"  
  
"I know what a secret keeper is. Sirius was almost one for my parents. Instead, Pettigrew was." Harry gave a small shudder.  
  
"Well, who is it now?"  
  
"What do you mean? I don't have one now."  
  
"Harry," Jupiter said, "Are you daft? Don't you think Voldemort would be able to find you at the Dursleys if you weren't well-hidden?"  
  
Harry sat for a second, taking it in. Now that he thought about it, it seemed awfully silly to think that Voldemort, the most powerful Dark wizard around, had been unable to locate him at his aunt and uncle's house, where not only would he be easy to find, he would be easy to exterminate. He wouldn't put it past the Dursleys to tie him to a rock outside their house as a virgin sacrifice for the Dark Lord. Well, not totally virgin.  
  
"And why do you think you can't stay with the Weasleys on your summers?" Jupiter added, but Harry had a retort for that.  
  
"But I've stayed at their house for a month before, and nothing happened!"  
  
"Two things: Have you stayed at their house since Voldemort returned to power?" Harry looked surprised and opened his mouth. "No, right?" Jupiter said. He nodded dumbly. "Second, since you were able to stay there, you have to understand that though they may not seem like it, Arthur and Molly Weasley are pretty damn powerful wizards. You don't ever see them as anything more than the parental types, but I've been in situations where I've seen them kick some major ass."  
  
Harry found it really hard to imagine Arthur Weasley kicking any amount of ass, much less large amounts of it. He could only picture him asking about "escapators", and being unable to punish his children. Apparently, you never can tell.  
  
"That's why they always want to get you alone between summer at the Dursley's and school. It's the only time you don't have Dumbledore protecting you. Say, do you suppose it's Dumbledore?"  
  
Harry was still shocked by this odd turn of thinking. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I don't think he'd trust anyone else."  
  
Jupiter was just about to say something when Lucius Malfoy rounded the corner and looked straight at them.  
  
***  
  
Snape was walking along yet another long, dark passage, but this one had a defining feature, there was carpeting on the floor. It was thick and red and wasn't covered in dust and water stains, like the rest of the hallways. He assumed he must be getting closer to the main floor.  
  
He came to a corner. It went to the left, and right before Severus was a door. It was deep red mahogany, the colour of the carpet. The handle was a tarnished brass. Snape reached out and touched the handle gingerly. Nothing. He turned the handle slowly, silently, and pulled softly. The door opened without creaking, and Snape peered inside. No one there. He opened the door all the way and stepped in.  
  
The sheer size of the room would be enough to impress anyone. What was even more impressive were the staircases. Hundreds of them, twisting and turning and reaching up to the ceiling. Some of them ran all the way into blank walls, some of them led to the roof, some to other rooms, and some stopped abruptly in mid-air. Some of them failed to touch the ground. One of them seemed to lead up to a room that was in mid-air, and totally transparent. There were some chairs, an ottoman, and a coffee table suspended at the end of the staircase. It was impossible to tell which one led to where just by looking.  
  
After he was done taking in the staircases, he noticed he was in a library of sorts. The impossibly high walls were covered in full bookshelves, and covered in thick dust. Snape had to admit that it was very hauntingly beautiful. But admiration wasn't what he'd come here for. He had to-  
  
Jupiter. She was alarmed. He couldn't tell why, but he knew she was in trouble.  
  
***  
  
"I am disappointed, Wormtail." said Voldemort.  
  
"Yes, Master." He was really in for it now.  
  
"You will find Lucius. You will bring him to me. If he does not have the Potter boy, he will resist. You will do anything short of killing him to get him here, or you will be punished."  
  
"Yes, Master." Wormtail gave an inward sigh. He was all right, temporarily, and that was what counted. He scurried off to find Malfoy.  
  
***  
  
Lucius gave Jupiter only a cursory glance before his eyes darted to the other side of the hallway. He stepped foward purposefully, and Jupiter had to throw herself backwards to keep herself from being stepped on. Lucius's next step was directly onto her hair. She lay on the floor, when suddenly she heard Severus's voice in her head.  
  
"Jupiter! Where are you?"  
  
She lifted her wrist to her mouth and whispered. She knew Lucius couldn't hear her, but it was hard to speak loudly when you were looking up your enemy's robes. "I'm right where you left me, in the corridor."  
  
"How far away from where I left you?"  
  
"The exact spot I was standing. Well, not quite. I'm looking up Lucius's skirt. He's got nice legs. He's not wearing pants. Would you like me to describe his undies to you?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Well good, he's not wearing any."  
  
"Dammit, Jupiter, this is important!"  
  
Jupiter could sense his fear and urgency. She shut up.  
  
"Listen, you and Potter, stay as close as possible to where I performed the charm, or else you'll be able to be seen."  
  
Jupiter jerked her head up, and felt some hair tear out of her scalp. She cried out in pain, but it was worth it. Harry's fingertip wasn't glowing with the same fervence that the rest of him was.  
  
"Harry!" she cried. "Your finger!"  
  
Harry looked down at it, and seemed to understand. He jerked his arm up, and his elbow flashed out of obscurity and back in with great speed. Still, it caught Lucius's attention. He lifted one foot and leaned forward to take a step when the impossible happened.  
  
Jupiter's hair, being round and sheer, gave way beneath his foot. Lucius toppled over onto Harry, who shrieked. Lucius cried out as well, and groped at Harry's face. He felt glasses, messy hair. Suddenly, he knew what he was lying on.  
  
"Harry Potter," he breathed. 


	8. Chapter 7

To Jupiter's horror, the Obscurus charm vanished, and she and Harry were lying, perfectly visible, on the floor.  
  
"And Miss Vrij," Lucius said, "What a surprise." The man stood up, Harry firmly grasped in one thin hand. Harry was struggling as best he could to get away. Lucius drew his wand from his pocket (Voldemort had repaired it for him) and pointed it at Jupiter. "I'm afraid, though, that I no longer need you."  
  
"Oh, but you do," Jupiter hastened to correct, smiling silkily. Her heart was racing, but she oozed up to Lucius as calmly as if he'd just invited her to dinner. She ran a finger down the inside of his arm. "I really think," She undid the top button of his robes with a twitch of her fingers. "That you do."  
  
Lucius knew she was merely trying to save her skin, but he also knew that he could kill her later, if he wanted. "Fine," he said, matter-of-factly, "Stupefy!"  
  
Jupiter fell down, unconscious. He slid his arm underneath her, and managed to heave her up onto his shoulder without letting go of Harry, who looked disgusted. Lucius then let go of Harry, and pointed his wand at him. "You, however, will die if you do not obey me. Master did not say I had to return you alive. Now walk."  
  
Lucius and Harry went back the way they had come.  
  
***  
  
"That stupid girl!" cried Snape, trying to find a way back. "Good gods, I'll never forgive her if she gets herself killed." He paused for a moment, and thought. "Or shagged."  
  
***  
  
Harry was incredibly annoyed. He knew that Jupiter was just trying to stay alive, but by god, she was annoying! "Oh I'm so sexy, pay attention to me! Don't hurt me and I'll sleep with you! Blah blah blah blah blah. She and Snape deserve each other," Harry thought to himself silently. He felt Lucius's wand poke into his back.  
  
"Faster, boy. Master does not want to be kept waiting."  
  
Harry was going to say something rude when Wormtail rushed into the corridor. His eyes lit up.  
  
"Lucius! You found him!"  
  
"I did, Wormtail. Now get out of the way."  
  
But the rat-faced, balding man gave an evil smile. "No."  
  
"Wormtail, you disgusting piece of rotting flesh, move or you shall be punished!"  
  
Wormtail drew his wand with lightning speed and shouted "Flipendo!" before Lucius could react. The blonde man went flying, and Harry turned and ran. Wormtail seemed to have expected this. "Casseo!" A large net with white glowing binds fell upon Harry's head. His legs got tangled and he fell. When he landed, he hit his head on the stone. He passed out.  
  
***  
  
Jupiter awoke to find herself locked in another cell, with Lucius Malfoy sitting just outside. This cell had the familiar light grey stone walls, and a floor made of disgustingly damp earth. And pebbled, Jupiter noticed, as she pulled one out of her thigh.  
  
"Well, I must say, this is awfully familiar."  
  
Lucius turned his blond head to face her. He looked tired and he had a large bruise on his forehead. "Oh, are you awake?"  
  
"I assume so. Say, feel like loaning me some robes? Only it's a bit chilly down here on the floor, in just this sheet, you know?"  
  
Lucius looked at her. Considering her position, she seemed awfully leisurely. "You didn't seem too keen on putting more clothes on earlier."  
  
"You didn't seem too keen on keeping me alive. Coincidentally, how's Pandora? Lock her up, too?"  
  
"Pandora is at school," Lucius said shortly.  
  
"School, ah, how I miss it. So why do I get the dungeon treatment?"  
  
Lucius sighed. "If you must know, you're my bait."  
  
Jupiter snickered. "This brings a whole new meaning to 'jail bait'."  
  
"You're exceedingly annoying, you know that?"  
  
Jupiter nodded. "So are you."  
  
***  
  
Severus was more lost now than he was earlier, since he now had a destination. "Jupiter? Jupiter are you there?" he called into his wrist and heard a tinny reply.  
  
"Where are we, Lucius?"  
  
"Why do you care? You're going to remain here until Severus comes to get you."  
  
"How the hell will he know how to find me if he doesn't know where I am?"  
  
"What does that have to do with your knowing where we are?"  
  
"Dunno. I can't think of an answer to that."  
  
"I didn't think you could."  
  
Severus sighed. "I'm coming for you, Jupiter. Don't you worry."  
  
"I know," thought Jupiter to herself, "That's what's troubling me."  
  
***  
  
Voldemort peered into his scrying glass. Lucius had Jupiter, Wormtail had Potter. Well done, Wormtail. But Lucius was going about his idea all wrong. Sitting in front of the cell, hah!  
  
"I think it's time for a change in tactic," he said, slowly, "I shall have to pay Lucius a visit."  
  
***  
  
Wormtail was walking along one of the now-familiar mineral-stained hallways, his sandals making a chuff-chuff noise on the stones. It had been so long since he was Voldemort's favorite. He had been Voldemort's only for a time, but had been disgusted with his Master's half-human form. He had been rewarded, of course (he flexed his silvery-transparent hand fondly), but it hadn't brought him to the status he craved. But surely, if he brought Harry Potter--  
  
"Master will be so pleased to see you," Wormtail said to Harry's unconscious form, bobbing in the air in front of him as he walked, "Master will reward me most handsomely."  
  
"Your 'Master' will not get the chance to see him," came a menacing voice from the end of the hallway. Before Wormtail had the time to whirl around, the voice had shouted again. "Stupefy!"  
  
Wormtail fell over with the force of the curse, and his head hit the floor first, with a sickening crack. Draco stepped out of the shadows.  
  
"Fucker," he said, "I hope he's dead. Ennervate!" he said quietly, pointing his wand at Harry's chest. The black-haired boy slowly came to.  
  
"Draco?" he asked, blinking.  
  
"Yeah, it's me." he said. "Come on, get up."  
  
Harry did, with help from Draco. He rubbed the welt on the back of his head gingerly. "What happened to you, Draco?"  
  
"It's a long story," Draco sighed, "Right now, it's vitally important that you come with me. We have to find Snape, or we're all in big trouble."  
  
"Any chance of you explaining this to me?"  
  
"Not yet. Come on, don't dawdle."  
  
The two boys ran off in search of Snape.  
  
***  
  
"So how's your wife?"  
  
"Narcissa is well."  
  
"She mind you cheating on her?"  
  
Lucius glared at Jupiter. "Are you always this snotty?"  
  
Jupiter nodded. "Pretty much. Well, more so when I've been naked and half starved for god knows how long, feels like a week, and kept in a dingy ugly old cell paraded by Death Eaters."  
  
Lucius didn't seem to hear most of that. "Did you see your father, by the way?"  
  
"Yes, as a matter of fact."  
  
"Sickly-looking, wasn't he? Poor man."  
  
Jupiter said nothing.  
  
"He never spoke of you to me. I wouldn't have known he was your father."  
  
"Why are you suddenly interested in my father?"  
  
Lucius gave a tiny gesture that might have been a shrug. "Did you ever wonder if he and Severus knew one another?"  
  
Jupiter's eyebrows raised. She hadn't considered that. Perhaps they'd been old friends. Jupiter suddenly got a mental image of a young Severus and Hayredin laughing and leaning on one another, both wearing army garb. Unlikely. Besides, Severus most definitely wouldn't be interested in an old friend's daughter. They probably hadn't known one another at all. But then--  
  
Jupiter's train of thought was derailed when Lucius shot upright and contrived to look fully awake. "Master-" he began.  
  
"Where is the Potter boy, Lucius?" He gave Jupiter a quick glance, as if she were a table decoration, and then looked back at Malfoy.  
  
"Master, I can explain. Wormtail-"  
  
"I am sick of your excuses, Lucius. I told you, that if you did not have the Potter boy-"  
  
"Master, please, I-" The man didn't look half as composed as he formerly did. His face looked translucent, the bags under his eyes pronounced, and his voice was desperate.  
  
"Lucius, you have served your purpose well. However, like all instruments, you have gotten worn out. And like all worn down instruments, you must be discarded."  
  
"Master!"  
  
***  
  
Severus knew they had to be somewhere. He knew Lucius was waiting for him, of course. He knew it was a trap. But trap or no, he couldn't just let Jupiter alone with him. They had to leave, and he couldn't bloody well leave Jupiter down here.  
  
He turned down another dank corridor.  
  
***  
  
"I'm telling you, after this, I will never lay foot in another dungeon," said Draco, "They'll have to send my Potions work up to the common room, because-"  
  
"Shh!" cried Harry, "Someone's coming!"  
  
Draco started, and then quickly wrapped his cloak around Harry and pulled up the hood. Around the corner came a gangly man in the familiar black robes. He gave Draco a little wave. "'Lo, Crabbe."  
  
Draco gave a token wave back, but the man didn't see. Within moments, the man was gone. Draco released Harry, who stepped backwards as quietly as he could.  
  
"You know," he whispered to Draco, "For you Slytherins being so smart, you sure are a lot of chowderheads."  
  
Draco scowled. "Not all of Voldemort's cronies are that dumb, Harry, don't be fooled. Those ones just do the menial work. Now come on," Draco glanced around the corridor, "Snape has to be around here somewhere."  
  
"No he hasn't," said Harry, "He could be bloody anywhere! This castle is huge!"  
  
Draco didn't reply, but resumed walking.  
  
***  
  
It had all ended rather soon. Lucius had been protesting, then came a flash of green light and a loud noise. When the blinding light in Jupiter's eyes had faded, Lucius Malfoy was left lying, mouth and unfocused eyes open in shock, on the stone floor.  
  
It was just a still life, before her. Lucius, on the floor. Voldemort, standing above menacingly. The stone walls the same colour as Lucius's face, to Jupiter's temporarily light-warped eyesight.  
  
Jupiter was staring at Voldemort blankly, unseeing as he pointed the offending wand at himself and muttered something. He turned away as the room again filled with a sick light. Jupiter could see Voldemort shrinking down from his previous seven-foot height. The greenish skin on his bald head cracked and split, and black tendrils crept out from between the cracks, as the skin turned to ash and fell away.  
  
When the skin had stopped falling away, Voldemort turned to Jupiter. Her mouth dropped open at his new form. He spoke "You will come with me."  
  
Jupiter opened her mouth to make a cutting remark, but found that her repertoire of snottiness seemed to have leaked dry. Instead, she stood, and, when Voldemort had opened the door to her cell, stepped forward, as if in a trance, and took the Dark Lord's arm.  
  
***  
  
Snape was near to screaming. He couldn't find anything that looked familiar. Or rather, he couldn't find anything that was out of the ordinary that he remembered. All the hallways looked alike!  
  
But wait, there, wasn't that the statue of the Holy Mother he'd run into? He rushed up to it, his robes flowing behind him. He nearly cried out with joy when he touched it, that was it! He'd never been happier to see a religious artifact in his life.   
  
"Severus-" It was short, pleading, full of emotion, and definitely feminine.  
  
Snape turned around anxiously. "Jupiter?"  
  
***  
  
"Have a seat," said the Dark Lord. Jupiter sat. She hadn't been through this part of the castle, obviously. It was plush and lined with blood red carpets. The furniture was charcoal black, and the windows were hidden behind the crimson coloured velvet drapes.  
  
But she didn't notice it as much as she might have. Coursing through her veins was a feeling she hadn't felt since her childhood. Jupiter imagined that, to a normal person, it would be comparable to meeting Jesus. Her heart beat hard in her ears and her breath came quickly. Her stomach was full of butterflies and her head was full of thoughts of him.  
  
He turned around and looked at her. Before her was not the scaly-green skin and the burning red eyes of Voldemort, but the vibrant blue eyes and black hair of Tom Riddle, aged nineteen. His thin lips were drawn into an amused smile, and his eyes sparked and twinkled with intelligence.  
  
"Jupiter, let me see your wrist," said the man, and Jupiter obediently held out both arms, wrists up. Tom took her right wrist in his hands, and Jupiter thrilled to feel his fingers against her skin. He fondled the place where the skin was smooth and scarred, as if from a burn. Jupiter stayed completely still as Tom lifted the wrist to his lips and kissed it. Jupiter reeled, and as such, failed to feel the warmth of the Enaudius charm fade into nothingness.  
  
"You look exhausted."  
  
"I am," said Jupiter vaguely, "I haven't slept much. Except for when I pass out from the lack of food."  
  
"Lack of food?" asked Tom, and his black eyebrows shot up.  
  
"Yes, lack of food," Jupiter said, slightly annoyed, "You haven't been sending me any."  
  
The attractive boy looked offended. "I'm hurt that you'd accuse me of that."  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Jupiter, befuddled.  
  
"I had full meals sent to you twice a day!" Tom said, "It must have been my lackeys. Not one of them can be trusted. They shall all be harshly punished for this!"  
  
Jupiter saw, through sleep-ridden eyes, the boy smile at her. She heard, through vague ears, him tell her to sleep. And she felt, with amazing clarity, the touch of his hand on her arm as he led her to bed and tucked her in.  
  
Effortlessly, she slept.  
  
***  
  
Tom laughed, as he entered the other room. Alpha Zabini was sitting in a chair, staring at a map on the wall. He turned, and saw Tom.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here? Who are you?"  
  
"Shut up, Zabini," the boy snapped, "I am your Master."  
  
Zabini's jaw dropped. "Master?"  
  
"Yes. I decided it might be better for everyone if we got to the root of the problem. This seemed the best way."  
  
"What is the root of the problem?" Zabini asked.  
  
"Well, in order to get Potter, we need Snape. In order to get Snape, we need Jupiter. In order to get Jupiter, you have to persuade her. She's an odd girl, you know. I would have thought she'd be faithful to me if I asked her. But she's grown attachments to other things, like Snape. And the Malfoy boy. Stronger than her attachment to the Dark Side."  
  
"If I may ask, Master, why did you not choose her at the beginning?"  
  
Tom sighed. "I sometimes wonder that myself. You see, she has a deep love for me in her heart. An infatuation. She thinks I'm some prince in shining armour, who would one day come and take care of her. I could see it, in her eyes. But I had no need for a girl in love with me. I wanted a girl afraid of me."  
  
"But Master, if she loves you, she would be ever more your servant!" Zabini protested.  
  
"Yes, Zabini, but love makes one foolish. You try to protect the ones you love, even in every day life. If someone had said, 'I hate Voldemort,' she, at her young age, would have spoken out in my defence, instead of keeping her mouth shut like a sensible girl would. Touching, yes, but stupid."  
  
"But she does not fear you now, does she? Why not just overcome her with a show of power?"  
  
"Excellent question," Tom gave a small grin, "She could never be a Death Eater, Zabini, but she can be of use to me. If I can use her love of me to manipulate her, I can get her to do anything for me. And at this age, she has the sense to keep quiet about her loyalties."  
  
"But doesn't this mean you will have to love her back?"  
  
"There is no rule saying that love must be a two way street. But yes, I will have to pretend. I am prepared to do so."  
  
"But...Master? Why the new...look?"  
  
"You are full of questions, Zabini."  
  
Zabini's mouth snapped shut at the threatening tone in Tom's voice. He'd begun to forget that though Voldemort looked like his former self, beneath the visual, he was still a Dark Lord.  
  
"I will tell you, Zabini. By stealing Lucius's life, I was able to use it as a youthfulness potion, and restore myself to this age. It is helpful because, no one recognizes Tom Riddle. I am very old, Zabini, much older than any of you. That is why no one will know me.  
  
"It also helps with Jupiter. I daresay she wouldn't fancy having a half-human lover."  
  
Zabini, smartly, kept his mouth shut.  
  
"Leave me, Zabini. Watch the girl, tell me when she wakes," said Tom, sitting at a desk.  
  
"Yes, Master."  
  
"Oh, and Zabini?"  
  
"Yes, Master?"  
  
"Obliviate!"  
  
***  
  
"No," said the voice again, "It's Narcissa, actually."  
  
Snape couldn't help but look surprised. "I wasn't expecting to see you."  
  
"Yes," said Narcissa, "I know." Her hood was down, and her hair curled around her thin face in tiny blonde tendrils. "I came here about my son and my husband. Mostly my son."  
  
"What about him?" I his rush to find Jupiter, Severus had forgotten that Draco and Harry had come with him. He scolded himself for even thinking to bring them along. He must have been panicked, because he would never endanger anyone's life like that needlessly. Not even Potter's.  
  
"It doesn't matter," said Narcissa, dismissively, "It's been taken care of. But we needed to find you."  
  
"Why me?" asked Snape.  
  
"Severus," she said, fiddling with her cloak hood, "The-  
  
"Hold on," said Severus abruptly, "Shhhh." He began listening harder to the sounds in his head.  
  
***  
  
Severus knew something was wrong. First, it had been Voldemort. He'd been there, with Jupiter. That'd been worrying enough. But then, without reason, he was gone. Instead, there was another voice, a man's voice. Severus didn't recognize this voice at all, didn't know what had happened to Jupiter. He'd heard him take her somewhere, but where?  
  
Then he'd felt Jupiter's emotions in the back of his mind. Or, he wished it had been his mind. Instead, it tickled at the back of his libido rather pervasively. That had made him uncomfortable. But more than that, it made him angry. It was one thing for a man to steal Jupiter away from the Dark Lord, but by gods, he wasn't going to steal her from Severus himself!  
  
But the really worrying bit was the fact that the spell seemed to have stopped working. Snape could still feel Jupiter in his mind - she was asleep - but he couldn't hear her anymore. There'd been the sound of something brushing against her wrist, and then it had gone.  
  
He looked at Narcissa with worry and anger in his face. "I can't hear her anymore."  
  
Narcissa looked confused. "What?"  
  
Severus shook his head. "Nevermind. What do you need me for?"  
  
"Severus, my husband intends to Mark Draco tonight, and we were wondering if-"  
  
"Don't worry about it," said Snape, dully, "Lucius is dead."  
  
It was Narcissa's turn to look shocked. "H-how do you know?"  
  
Severus explained to her about the Enaudius charm, and how he'd heard Lucius's death.   
  
Narcissa's pretty pale face formed into a frown, it was obvious she was endeavoring not to cry. She turned her face away and said. "Find Draco, tell him to get out. I have to find Lucius. I have to see for myself."  
  
Snape was a little taken aback, but nodded. He continued down the corridor, and Narcissa Disapparated. Then, Snape smacked himself on the head. Here, he'd been running around the corridors like a maniac, when he could have just Apparated.   
  
Snape Apparated to the spot he'd left Jupiter and Harry.  
  
***  
  
"I don't know why you're so bent out of shape about it."  
  
"You hit me in the head!"  
  
"You were asking for it!"  
  
"I was not!"  
  
"You were, too," said Draco, haughtily, "You spoiled my punch line."  
  
"Oh no," said Harry sardonically, "Not a famous Malfoy joke!"  
  
"Hey, nothing wrong with that!"  
  
"There's a famous Malfoy everything!"  
  
Draco grinned evilly at Harry, who rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I don't believe you."  
  
***  
  
Jupiter awoke slowly. She wondered where on earth she was. Then she remembered Tom. She smiled, and looked around her. He wasn't anywhere to be seen, but a man was. He was gangly and odd-looking.  
  
"Who are you?" Jupiter asked.  
  
"You're awake!" he said, intelligently, "I must go tell Master."  
  
And with that, he was gone.  
  
"Good service," Jupiter mumbled.  
  
She took some time to admire her surroundings. The room was black and red in colour, with heavy drapes and velvet and leather furniture. The bed she lay on was a king-sized canopy bed with black gauze hangings and black satin sheets.  
  
"How romantically gothic," she said, and stood slowly. She was wearing, oddly enough, a black cotton nightdress, instead of the sheet she'd been wearing for so long. She was grateful for whoever had changed her.  
  
She pulled open the drapes, and found that, instead of a window, it was a doorway, leading to a balcony. She stepped out onto it and was awed by what she next saw. Below her were hundreds of twisting staircases, and bookshelves the height of redwoods. Hundreds of feet below her, there must have been a floor, but the lighting was so dim it was hard to tell.  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Yes, impressive, isn't it?" came a voice behind her. She didn't have to turn around, she knew it was Tom. "I would very much like to say I had it built for you, but I'm afraid I just happened upon this castle in my travels," he said. He put a hand on the side of Jupiter's waist, and her stomach did a flip. "Are you hungry?"  
  
Jupiter nodded. "I'm famished."  
  
***  
  
Snape paced around the corridor for the tenth time. Jupiter still wasn't there, nor were Harry and Draco. He didn't know where to look, he didn't know what to do.  
  
"Now I don't even know what I'm looking for," Snape said, crossly.  
  
"Us! You're looking for us! And we found you!" echoed Draco's voice down the hallway. The two adolescent boys trotted up to Snape happily. "We've been looking for you everywhere!"  
  
Harry spoke quickly, "Draco's in trouble, Snape, and we need you to-"  
  
"Draco's not in trouble," said Snape gloomily.  
  
"Yes he is, his-"  
  
"Yeah, I am! Father wants to have me Marked! I don't-"  
  
"Draco, you are not in trouble," Snape said dully.  
  
"How do you know? I am in trouble and-"  
  
"Maybe you don't think being Marked is so bad, but Draco does!"  
  
"Yeah, I don't want to be a stupid old Death Eater!"  
  
"And I don't want him to be, and neither should you!"  
  
"Yeah! I think-"  
  
"DRACO!" cried Snape angrily, "You are NOT in TROUBLE! Your father is dead, and therefore cannot Mark you!" Draco and Harry stopped silent. Snape sighed. "I didn't want you to hear it from me. I was hoping your mother would tell you."  
  
Harry turned to his friend, concern on his face. "I'm so sorry, Draco, I-"  
  
"S'not your fault. And don't apologize. He wasn't all that good of a father anyway," Draco looked shell shocked. He may have wished all sort of bad things on his father, but didn't somehow expect him to be gone. It wasn't a sad feeling, just...different.  
  
Severus turned and looked down the hallway. "I guess we'd better find Jupiter."  
  
"Yeah," said Draco, "Before the Dark Lord kills her, too."  
  
***  
  
Narcissa found her husband with a quick Locating charm, and Apparated to him.  
  
His body was lying where Voldemort and Jupiter had left it, silver eyes still staring at the ceiling, mouth still open in surprise. Narcissa saw him and gave a little sob. She lifted Lucius's torso and held him in her arms, crying against his neck. She had loved him, though few could believe it. She had always been a good wife to him, had always been loyal, though she knew he was not.  
  
She'd been distressed when he'd said he would Mark Draco, she'd been torn. Her loyalties to her son were equal to those to her husband. She was forced to decide between the two, and she'd chosen Draco.  
  
"Lucius," she said softly into the man's tear-stained neck, "What shall I do now?"  
  
***  
  
Jupiter stepped into her room. She was wearing a two towels, one for her long hair, and one for her body. She shut the door behind her and dropped them. It was so nice to be clean again, she thought, as she shook her hair out and applied some detangling and drying charms on it. It fell in long waves down her back, and she opened the wardrobe.  
  
She looked through them. She wanted to look her best for Tom, she hated the thought that he'd seen her before, dirty and bloody and half-naked. How she must have smelled! No, this time, she'd find something perfect. Pink dress, green dress, red dress, violet - aha! She pulled out a black one and inspected it. It would work.  
  
She put it on with little difficulty and surveyed herself in the mirror. It was black and corseted, and the skirt was long and flowing. The sleeves were long as well, with slits cut in them. It was very pretty and form-fitting. Jupiter's breasts had dramatically shrank, as had her stomach, during her period of starvation. However, this wasn't so bad. Her breasts weren't small, after all, and-  
  
"Miss Jupiter, are you ready?" A man had stuck his head in the door.  
  
"Nearly, tell Tom I'll be right out. I'm inspecting my breasts."  
  
Zabini turned red and shut the door behind him.  
  
Jupiter laughed and picked up her wand, which had been set next to her bed. She applied a quick makeup charm for her eyeliner, and then braided her hair quickly, tying it off with a green bow.  
  
She spun around once in front of the full length mirror, and it whistled at her. She smiled, curtseyed and then stepped out of the room.  
  
***  
  
Draco and Snape were peering into Voldemort's scrying mirror. They'd come to his chamber to see if he was holding Jupiter there, but found them deserted. Harry had stood out front to guard. Snape and Draco had found the mirror on a desk. Snape had tuned the mirror (not an easy task, getting them to pick up on only one thing was hell) to Jupiter, and they'd been watching.  
  
Well, Draco had been. Snape had the decency not to watch Jupiter bathing. But when she'd gotten dressed, Draco told him to turn back around.  
  
Draco marveled. It was so easy for him to forget how pretty Jupiter was. She was too often funny or cold or putting on some sort of air to allow one to really look at her, and that probably caused most boys not to notice her so much. Not that she minded. As a matter of fact, she seemed downright grateful for the lack of male attention. But not now.  
  
They watched her step out and take the hand of, who was that?  
  
"Who the hell is that and what the hell does he think he's doing?" Severus growled, and Draco looked at him. It had never occurred to him that Snape might be protective of Jupiter. "And what the hell does she think she's doing?"  
  
Draco heard the words that Snape cut off in this throat, "Has she forgotten about me?"  
  
"Let's go," said Draco, and Snape hurried out of the room before him.  
  
***  
  
"You look wonderful, Jupiter," said Tom, and meant it. He might not have had much human left in him, but he was able to tell a beautiful woman when he saw one. He reached out his hand, and Jupiter took it, smiling at him sweetly.  
  
Tom led her to an archway Jupiter hadn't previously noticed, and the double doors swung open before them, revealing a high-ceilinged room, with all manner of paintings on the walls. Most of them were of humanoid magical creatures. Fae, mermaids, centaurs, and harpies were only a few of the ones Jupiter recognized.  
  
Tom guided the awestruck Jupiter to a seat at the table and sat her in it. He then sat himself at the opposite end. Jupiter had half expected them to be sitting at exact opposite ends of a hugely long table. Luckily, this was not the case. While they were seated on opposite sides of the table, they were both at the same end of it.  
  
Hovering a few feet above their heads were two cellos, made of pigment and light, and playing in harmony with each other, as irridescent colours shimmered across their surfaces. Jupiter couldn't put her finger on the tune, but it was somehow familiar, and made her think of springtime. She smiled, and looked back at Tom.  
  
***  
  
"Where are we going?" Harry asked Draco, "Why's Snape so upset?"  
  
"We're going to find Jupiter. Jupiter, who, may I remind you, doesn't seem to keen on leaving where she is at the moment!" Draco said loudly, but Snape ignored him. "My gods, he must be upset. I'd have slapped me for that comment."  
  
"What? Why?" asked Harry.  
  
"Jupiter's left Snape for a younger man," Draco said simply.  
  
Harry was very surprised. That didn't seem like Jupiter. Granted, he didn't know her that well, but what of all she'd said to him when they were under the Obscurus charm? About wanting to get married to and even - ugh - have kids with Snape? She'd been awfully sincere then, she wouldn't just change her mind, would she?  
  
The three hurried on.  
  
***  
  
It had been one of the best meals Jupiter'd had in a long time, partly because it was very much needed. But mostly because Tom had been there. They'd eaten, and then talked for hours over drinks. It must have been near midnight when there was finally a pause in the conversation.  
  
Jupiter laughed, out of nowhere. "You know, Tom, I don't know what I'd do without you..."  
  
Tom looked mildly curious. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, for the past few months, I've been just miserable. It was bad enough that I'd been lonely for months at school, what with Severus being gone all the time, and then I'd had work to do, and a lunatic to avoid...Then, without warning, I'm kidnapped, raped, tortured, and then kept naked in a cell and starved as well. Then I get rescued, but it's botched, and end up in a cell again. Then you come along, sweep me off my feet, and here I am, clean, well-fed, and with the best company I could ask for."  
  
"You flatter me, Jupiter."  
  
"I'm telling the truth."  
  
Tom smiled. "Do you think it's time we retired?"  
  
Jupiter looked down at her hands. Her fingers were awfully blurry, though whether that was fatigue or the wine she didn't know. She looked up at Tom and nodded. He stood, and went around to her side of the table, and helped her gently up.  
  
They left the room, and Jupiter was sad to be away from the music. Tom led her into her room, and changed her into her nightgown with a quick switching spell. She lay down on the bed, and felt Tom's lips touch her forehead.  
  
"Tom?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Yes, Jupiter?"  
  
"Will you stay with me?"  
  
There was a silence, and Tom stroked her hair. "Not tonight, Jupiter."  
  
"Please?"  
  
"Not tonight."  
  
Tom turned out the lights quietly, and left.  
  
*** 


End file.
